Embers
by Luxferre991
Summary: During another well planned assault with Mercury and Emerald, Cinder Fall finds herself unable to kill Team RWBY. To find the answers of her inability to end their lives, she must remember the sins of her past which led her down the path of darkness. Rated M for later chapters. YoungCinder/OC (First story PLZ go easy on me!)
1. Once Upon a Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

Chapter One: Once Upon a Time

Fire.

The putrid odors of fire and smoke were abundant in the night air. Flames of destruction hungered for the destruction of another Schnee Dust Plant. Roaring blazes followed behind a certain woman. A woman clad in red with hair like blackened firewood. She strutted towards the front gate of the Dust refinery in her glass heels like a lioness stalking a kill, an audible clicking noise whenever she took a step. The only other sound hanging in the air was the crackling and hissing of the fires that followed her. Her peerless amber orbs glistened in the firelight, a wicked smile forming as she saw the first line of defense appear to face her and stop her conquest right then. Military police. Hardly a threat for someone like Cinder Fall. With a simple wave of her hand, two streams of unyielding flame incinerated the two men without leaving a trace.

In the past, her plans had always gone awry. Her partner Roman always tried to help her by adding his own little gimmicks and schemes, but to no avail. He had failed her too many times, so he was yet another meal for her flames to swallow. Cinder had no need for the White Fang, or Roman, or any of Junior's lackeys. Even Mercury and Emerald have failed her before, but she kept them alive, for she had need of them one last time. This time, she would take care of the pests herself. Those meddling children who always destroyed her plans and got in her way.

"Stop right there Cinder!", a young but firm voice called out from up ahead.

There she was. Ruby Rose. The scythe wielder with unmatched speed. She stood with her three teammates at the entrance to the factory, staring down Cinder. Those sterling silver-

"-eyes...", a voice whispered in the witch's head.

"Hrrmph...", Cinder growled.

"You okay Cinder?", the green-haired woman asked cautiously.

"Of course I'm okay you imbecile. You and Mercury take care of her friends. The red one...is mine", Cinder hissed.

Mercury's eyes became dinner plates,"What?! That's three against two!"

"Then it should be a fair fight Mercury", Cinder snapped at him, making her command crystal clear.

With a sigh of frustration, the pair leaped into action, taking on the princess, the Faunus and the brawler. Ruby knew her friends could handle themselves. She and Cinder locked eyes. This was it. An opportunity to destroy that brat and her friends once and for all. Cinder made the first move, sending giant orbs of flame toward the child. Ruby reacted with unmatched speed, zipping around the fireballs to slash at her opponent. The sorceress nimbly avoided every swipe, snickering as she conjured and launched a burning glass sword in Ruby's direction. The aspiring Huntress barely shattered it in time, staggering to maintain her stance as she glared daggers at Cinder with those piercing starlight eyes. As Cinder's eyes locked onto Ruby's, she noticed something. A gaze that she had seen a long time ago. A certain glimmer of hope that she had seen in only one other person...

...him.

"YAAAHHH!", Ruby cried out as she launched herself at Cinder again, trying to wear her down with all her strength.

What was happening? Am I faltering? Many similar thoughts clouded Cinder's mind, distracting her from battle and thus slowing her down, making her sloppy. Although she could avoid and defend against the barrage of shots and swipes, she was weakening.

"You won't hurt this girl", the voice in her head rang out again.

"Shut...UP!", the witch cried as she let out a blast of fire, blowing Ruby away and onto the floor.

Cinder fell to her knees, somehow exhausted. Mercury and Emerald on the other hand were ready to finish off their opponents at Cinder's command, as they had been toying with them most of the fight. Ruby weakly looked over at her battered friends, and then back at Cinder. Her eyes weren't sharp with determination this time. They were scared. She could do it. She could kill this annoying brat and her friends. Tonight would be the end and she could carry out her plans without any substantial interruption. Mercury and his accomplice stood by for orders, smiling wickedly down at their victims. What they heard instead blew their mind.

"...fall...back", the witch muttered, just loud enough for her partners to hear her.

Mercury snorted,"What?! We could do it right now! They're weak! And vulnerable!"

"Don't talk back to me Mercury!", Cinder hissed.

The pair of fighters simply looked at each other before walking back to Cinder. The fiery woman hailed a airship on standby, and within seconds they had vanished into the night sky.

Cinder sat away from her comrades in the transport, making small embers with her hands as she pondered her thoughts. How could she have been so weak? If she was on top of her game, that factory would have been reduced to soot and ashes. The voice in her head had distracted her from the objective. She wanted, no, needed to find the cause. There would be only one place to find it.

"Pilot. Drop me off at the Vale Central Cemetery", she commanded as she put on a black cloak from one of her bags on the ship, pulling up the hood.

Emerald and Mercury kept their mouths shut about her command this time, knowing she would probably roast them had they done otherwise. When the transport had departed, she traversed the graves, seeing a vast ocean of tombs, yet she was seeking three names in particular. She spotted a caretaker nearby, seeing an opportunity to make her search easier she took it.

"Excuse me...can you direct me towards the...Team ZERO memorial?", she asked softly.

"Ah yes...so young they were. Over there on the hill, at the very top there", the old man mused.

Cinder Fall took her time to walk up the hill of the sea of the dead. Soon enough, she found what she was looking for. At the top of the hill, there sat four tombs in a straight line, side by side. She looked them over carefully, going down the line of names:

Zane Noctis

"May you find comfort in the shadows of eternal rest"

Ella Blaze

"Your heartwarming flame lit up our lives and shall never flicker out"

Rizu Fall

"Though you walk in the dark, may the rhythms of paradise light your way"

Orion Maxima

"With the strength of ten Ursas, you lifted our spirits"

She had not been here to visit in over ten years. Ten years ago when power was her ambition, and her life had more meaning than to destroy. Ten years ago. The thought made her smile. Not an evil smile or a mischievous grin, but a genuine smile. These names brought her back to a time when she was different. A time when she laughed, cried, and loved. A time when her name was Ella Blaze.

**A/N: Okay guys thanks for reading this is my first story to post on this site! And also my first RWBY fanfic so I'm really excited to share this with you all! No flames please! Remember: Memory is the Key. **


	2. Ones and Zeros

**A/N: Okay guys sorry for the delay but here is chapter two! Thanks to those of you who are patient enough with me to follow me and stuff! Yay! And without further ado lets get started!**

Chapter Two: Ones and Zeros

Beacon Academy.

The prestigious academy of Vale that every aspiring Huntsman and Huntress dreamed to attend. For the unfortunate many, they couldn't do much besides dream. Luckily for Ella Blaze, her dream had come true. She had always trained her hardest. The young brunette was top of her class at Haven with her prodigal talent with Dust and her many applications for it, specializing in fire based dust. Her youthful crimson/hazel eyes gleamed with happiness as the airship landed near the front gates. The ecstatic young woman had donned a deep burgundy dress that went down to her knees with matching heels and scarf. As the students filed off the ship, she followed close behind, taking in the sights of her new home. Suddenly an automated message played over the loudspeakers.

"All first year students please make your way to the main meeting hall for an announcement from your headmaster", the voice said robotically.

With that information, the first year students broke off from the rest of the pack, fitting into the meeting hall. As the room finally was filled to the brim with first year students, the headmaster appeared on the stage. He was a tall, refined looking man. His chocolate brown eyes scanned over the students. As he began to speak, a slight sign of a smile appeared on his face.

"Welcome to you all. I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon. Today not only marks your first day on your path to becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses, but also this is where you begin your journey to find out exactly why you wish to do so. Being a Huntsman or a Huntress isn't just about fighting. It's about keeping our world safe and secure from any dark force threatening such safety. To all of you I wish the best of luck. I now turn the mic to Professor Glynda Goodwitch", the professor finished his speech and stepped away from the mic without another word as applause reverberated throughout the room.

Ella stood in the middle of the crowd of beginner students. As happy as she was to be here, she was also impatient. She just wanted to get on with classes and training to get stronger. Unfortunately for her, there was more to be said. Professor Goodwitch took the mic from the headmaster and cleared her throat. She seemed like a strict woman, one who did not hesitate to discipline those who deserved it. Behind her sharp glasses, her ever sharper eyes scanned the crowd.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen. This year things will be done a little differently. This year, you will get to choose your teams. Since it is already late, all students are to report to the cafeteria for dinner when your teams are formed. Simply register at the kiosks at the front of the stage. Remember to choose wisely. For the people you choose, you choose for the next four years", the Huntress ended ominously, stepping away from the mic.

Ella was appalled. She was being forced to join a team? As relatively spritely as she was, she didn't work well with others. She didn't know many people and she definitely didn't make any friends at Signal. Ella was too busy studying Dust and how to use it to make herself stronger. With her experience of excelling as a loner, she knew that she wouldn't be able to work well in a team. They would just slow her down. With an angered sigh, she just sat up against a wall, watching the horde of students clamoring to find their desired team mates. Being in a comfortable position, the young Huntress-in-training dozed off to sleep. As the world of dreams took her, she began to wonder if her time here would even be worth it to her.

"What did you say to me?", a snide voice sounded off.

The echo of the snappy remark was enough to wake Ella from her peaceful slumber. Wiping the rest from her eyes she looked towards the source of the disturbance. In the far corner of the room there was a tough looking teen towering over another one. The aggressor had long earthen hair down to his shoulders. He wore a tanned leather jacket with a peculiar design on the back and a pair of sleek gray jeans with black combat boots to top him off. The peculiar design was a circle cut down the middle vertically with the left half in the shape of a golden crescent moon and the other in the shape of a black sun. The bully's belt was adorned with two katana blades on each side, one had a deep violet sheath and the other had a bright orange one. His victim was a bulky male sitting below him, looking down at the floor with empty saddened eyes, holding what looked like a lion tail close to him like a lifeline. He could easily stand up for himself, but clearly wanted to be alone with his thoughts. He meekly opened his mouth to speak.

"L-Listen man I just want to be left alone okay? I'm not interested in this school. I'm not here because I want to...", he muttered, keeping his head down.

"Oh yeah? This is a prestigious combat school pal. So obviously you either are exceptionally skilled or some close connections got you in. So here you have a choice freak. You can either join my team or I can make your life here at Beacon a living hell! You think you're too good for humans? You filthy Faunus! I'm giving you an out here to be saved a lifetime of hurt, but obviously you're too stupid to comprehend that just like the rest of your kind!", the bully barked cruelly.

Ella was appalled that somebody could be so cruel to another being whether or not they were a Faunus. She scanned the room for any faculty members that might intervene, but there were none. The other students who hadn't formed teams were just wandering the assembly hall aimlessly, trying to ignore the brutal scene. The teenage girl rose to her feet to protest, but stopped herself when she saw something in the corner of her eye.

A boy, clad in black topped with short but spiky/messy pitch black hair and equally dark sunglasses approached the scene. He seemed to be about the same height as the bully and equally as tough. His coat seemed made of fleece with his right sleeve rolled up to his elbow and his left kept down with a black glove covering his hand. On his knees were two combat knee guards. The last thing Ella noticed was a small revolver sized holster on the left side of his hip with speed loaders attached around the belt and a "T" shaped object on his right side. The dark figure just walked up to the verbal assailant.

"Leave him alone", he spat coldly, directly behind the tormentor.

He turns to face the black-clad student,"Excuse me? Did you say something?"

"Are you deaf as much as you are brain dead? I said to leave him alone"

"And who are you to tell me how to talk to filth?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. Faunus or not, that poor kid is a person. And nobody deserves to be treated like that"

"Okay pal. Make me. Because the minute you hit me, you're gonna be out of here faster than you can say 'oops'"

Ella couldn't believe her eyes and ears. Would they fight? She gasped as some of what appeared to be the bully's lackeys and they seemed quite tough. Time seemed to slow down for her as the ringleader raised his tightened fist for the first strike.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

In a steady rhythm the many gears and clocks in Professor Ozpin's office sang the sounds of painfully passing time. Ella, the boy in black, the ringleader of the bullies and the poor victimized Faunus found themselves with the headmaster after the petty squabble that caused much more destruction to the ballroom/assembly hall then was intended. The headmaster was looking out towards the last lights of the setting sun from his window before sighing and sitting down at his desk to face his young troublemakers. The boy in black had barely any problems, only suffering from a bruise on his cheek and a slight scrape on his chin whereas the sword-faring teen had a black eye and a bloody nose. Ella had suffered minor singe marks on her outfit and her arms lightly coated with ashes. The cowardly lion-like Faunus sustained no injuries just minor trauma from being bullied it seemed. Professor Goodwitch came from the other end of the room tapping her finger on her crossed arm impatiently as she handed the enigmatic administrator the students personnel files.

"So then", the headmaster began, looking over the files on the students that Professor Goodwitch handed him,"What do we have here Glynda?"

She sighed and looked them over, starting from the bully,"First here we have Zane Noctis. Son of the late Aaron Noctis of the Noctis Weapons Manufacturing Company. Next we have Miss Cinderella 'Ella' Blaze from Haven with no family to speak of sir. Mr. Silent Shades here is Rizu Fall from Atlas. We have almost nothing here on him. Last but certainly not least we have Mr. Orion Maxima, the son of Scorpio and Artemis Maxima. He is from Mistral as well as Miss Blaze", she finished.

Her words were followed by an uncomfortable silence. Ella just looked around at her fellow students wondering what would happen. Orion had his head down, Rizu was still wearing his dark shades with his arms crossed and Zane just kept wiping his bleeding nostrils with a tissue. Ozpin sought the need to end the dreadful silence.

"So then. You all get accepted my prestigious school and your first order of business is to burn it to the ground? Anyone care to explain what happened here?", he asked calmly.

Zane spoke up,"I-I was just trying to get Orion here on my team so that I could-"

"We have evidence from other students that what you were doing, Mr. Noctis, was nothing short of threatening Mr. Maxima. Bullying is not tolerated in my school", said the headmaster sharply, to which Rizu just snickered cynically,"Something amusing about this situation Mr. Fall?"

Rizu's brow furrowed with disgust,"Well actually yes sir. There is. You sit there and say that bullying and discrimination are not tolerated. Yet why was it that I had to step in and stop him? Why weren't YOUR staff standing by? You honestly thought that people here wouldn't be prejudiced or mean? Especially to a Faunus? You disappoint me, Headmaster"

The end of his reply was sharp and emphasized, yet every word was true. Neither Ozpin or his faculty were around to take control of the situation. Ozpin just lowered his gaze slightly and sighed.

"It is true. We as a faculty-...no. I should have taken care of this matter personally. But that does not excuse the fighting or the excess amounts of fire in the assembly hall", he continued.

"I-I'm sorry sir. Rizu was outnumbered by Zane's friends and I tried to help but my flames got out of my control. They normally don't do that I can usually control them so well! I just didn't know what to do because I didn't know anybody and I don't have any friends or experience helping people and-", Ella was tripping over herself trying to explain.

"Calm yourself Miss Blaze. Now for Mr. Orion. Are you okay young man?"

The timid student looked up, his lion ears showing through his chocolate hair. His skin was perfectly tanned and his body was buff and masculine. If it wasn't for his normally timid nature he could have probably squashed Zane himself. He was wearing what looked like light-gray ancient centurion armor set with a short white cloak on his back that was held together by a gold medallion on the front with a large star print on it. After a few moments his finally spoke up.

"Y-Yes sir...I'm okay. I didn't want to start any trouble sir, honestly I didn't. I was just trying to mind my own business and see if there were any other Faunus I could team up with...you know how Faunus are discriminated against...", he muttered timidly.

Ozpin nodded once again and looked over the group and smirked a little,"You know, with all the damage and the fighting and all...normally I would have already sent you all home. Orion you would have been sent home just for your own safety. However I see in you something that is special. Something that can become the makings of a great team."

"And what exactly is that?", Rizu said coldly, a very subtle yet audible venom laced in his tone.

"In the four of you I see pride, loneliness, hatred and fear. These traits will stop you from from ever becoming a true huntsman or huntress. Nobody can conquer these emotions alone. But together I believe you could be the stuff of legend. So I will give you all a choice", he continued,"You could either leave this school forever with an expulsion, or you could take the initiation tomorrow with the rest of your classmates as a team. Make your choice"

The four teens looked at each other with the exception of Rizu. He just stared towards Ozpin. What other choice did they have? Even Orion didn't want to leave, as cowardly as he was. Without a word to each other the students simply nodded to Ozpin, who smiled at their choice. He stood up and tapped a few keys on his scroll.

"Then on behalf of myself and the faculty I welcome you. Welcome to Beacon...Team ZERO"

**A/N: Alright there we go! Thanks again for waiting for so long and expect more chapters I will work faster I promise! I am also taking OC requests so please send them to me and get the word out! See you all next time! **


	3. Into the Woods

**A/N: Hey guys! Welcome back to another chapter! Hopefully you all still like my story and are sticking with me! Remember I am taking OC's and they're a lot of fun to work with so please please please send them to me! Without further ado, let's get this train rolling! **

Chapter Three: Into the Woods

As dawn broke over the majestic mountain ranges beyond the Emerald Forest, all the first year students were lining up near the edge of a cliff. The morning mist was still quite dense in the perilous woods below the cliff face. Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch stood side by side as the mass of tired and grumpy students grouped up into their respective teams, Team ZERO included. Zane yawned as he walked towards a large rectangular pad that he saw Rizu and the others standing on. His team had themselves in their normal outfits, but more decked out with equipment. Towering over the rest was Orion trying to string a massive bow. From end to end it was probably five or so feet long and the ends were what appeared to be axe blades. The blades had little notches down near the ends for the bowstring to go. Ella had several canisters of Dust surrounding her waist. Rizu stood silent and still on the metal pad, looking out towards the forest. Zane made sure his own gear was in check as Ozpin finally began to brief the students.

"Good morning to you all. I do not wish to waste any time so I will get to the point. Below this cliff here is the Emerald Forest. This time of year the fog is especially thick so I urge you all to be careful. Your task today will be a little different than past initiations. Each team will be given a select Grimm target. Every team is to eliminate and bring back proof of the kill. Since these targets are particularly rare and powerful, it may take several hours or even days to find your target, therefore we have prepared a backpack filled with supplies for every team. This will not only teach you how to work as a team, but it will also help you learn patience, awareness, and trust. The pads you and your team stand on will launch you all into forest. You must all have your own landing strategy. Professor Goodwitch and I will be sending details of your respective targets to the scroll of whom we have chosen as leaders. Oh and to add a little bit of competition...the team to bring me a vial of Doomstalker venom will be allowed to break dress code for the semester", slight evidence of a smile creeped up on his face as he finished the briefing, nodding towards Professor Goodwitch as some sort of signal.

Goodwitch simply nodded back as she pressed a button on her scroll and subsequently the launch pads started flinging the students into the sky like rag dolls. Ella squealed a little as she was thrown into the air. Her heart raced as she tried to figure out an effective landing strategy. Her heart was racing too fast to think of one. Looking around her, the rest of her team seemed just as stumped even though time was running out.

"Any of you have any bright ideas?!", the frightened young woman called out.

Orion was surprisingly the first to speak up,"I-I think I have an idea! Everyone hold on!"

"Screw that! I'll make my own la-OOF!", Zane had landed smack dab into a large tree branch, the first to land as the group kept flying.

Rizu just groaned in annoyance as he reached for the "T" shaped object from his right side. Ella and Orion was shocked as the strange black object grew a long, slender, ice-white, steel blade from one end and a small sliver of another blade on the other end. He held it like a tonfa and also drew a black break-action revolver from his holster with his left hand before diving into the sea of trees and fog, leaving Ella and Orion still soaring.

Ella clung to the large teenager as they kept falling. Orion thought quickly of a plan and used his bow to launch an roped arrow towards a large trunk slightly higher above the tree line. As the rope grew taught, the last two members swung to safety and tumbled into the soft grass with Ella ending up on top of the Faunus. As she grabbed her bearings the girl noticed the embarrassing position they found themselves in. The bulky male's face lit up a bright red with Ella's face becoming the same shade. She quickly stood up and brushed herself off.

"S-Sorry about that", Ella muttered sheepishly.

Orion stood and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly,"No it's alright. It's c-cool"

An uncomfortable silence passed as the pair of students just avoided each other's gaze. Eventually they got back to reality.

"So I suppose we should go look for our teammates?", Orion asked in an unsure tone.

"Yeah. I guess so. I wonder where they ended up", Ella replied, taking a deep breath before looking around her surroundings.

"I-I think we have bigger problems", the Faunus said, his voice laced with fear.

Ella and Orion looked around the clearing and saw three pairs of piercing red eyes visible in the surrounding fog. Orion took a shaky battle stance and folded his longbow into a mighty battleaxe, the blade shimming softly. Out from the fog came three Beowolves, growling lowly at their prey. The teens stood side by side, unaware of what was creeping up behind them. As they prepared to attack, an echoing sound interrupted.

Clang.

The pair looked behind them and were shocked to see Rizu standing there with his blade and revolver lowered. The black-clad boy had tapped his thin blade against his metallic knee guards, making a soft but audible echo throughout the clearing like a tuning fork. Rizu walked past the pair and took a stance. His blade was held backhanded like a tonfa while his revolver was aimed down at the floor.

"We need to take these three out quickly. More Beowolves will be here shortly. They're chasing Zane in our direction", he explained blandly.

Ella barely had time to react to him before a Beowolf made the first move. In a fit of panic she simply cracked open one of her canisters of fire-based Dust in front of her, making a loud snap with her fingers to make the Dust form into a substantial flame, using it to singe a hole right though the monster, causing it to crumble on the floor. The second Grimm howled before charging at Orion, only for the Faunus to effortlessly cleave the beast in two right down the middle.

At last, the final Beowolf leaped at Rizu. Ella gasped as she noticed that he was not reacting. Time seemed to slow down for them as the dark beast opened its jaws to take a bite at him. As the monster's fangs inched closer and closer to his face, all seemed lost. Ella covered her eyes and turned away, shielding herself from the incoming gore as some deafening sounds filled the atmosphere.

POP!

POP!

SHICK!

...thud-thud-thud.

As the unexpected sounds finally dissipated, the brunette opened her eyes to see a dumbfounded Faunus with eyes like dinner plates. With a confused look she turned around towards her would-be-dead teammate, only for something entirely different to be seen. Rizu stood over a punctured, chopped up corpse of a Beowolf, reloading his gun and wiping his blade on the grass. Ella finally found the will to speak.

"Rizu! That was ama-"

"Thanks a lot for coming back to help me. What a team you guys ended up to be", a snooty, prideful voice groaned from behind the group.

Zane was walking towards the trio with his chest puffed out, trying to be the alpha male, but earned not one notable reaction. Rizu was the first to reply.

"Good of you to finally show up. What happened to the other five Beowolves tailing you?", he asked dryly.

"I already killed th-...wait. How did you know-", he was cut off.

"Whatever I guess you worked it out. So then did anyone here receive the target on their scroll? I didn't", the black-clad boy asked to his team.

DING!

Orion and Ella were about to check their scrolls, when Zane just let out a hearty laugh.

"Looks like Ozpin chose me as the team leader! Seems you guys gotta listen to me now", the snide heir spat, holding up his scroll for proof.

Ella, Orion and Rizu all just looked towards him, then at each other and all thought the same thing: 'we're doomed'. Seeing as there was nothing to be done about it, group just signed and accepted their fate, as much as it may have screwed them. The young woman of the group walked towards her new leader and reached for his scroll.

"Okay then what's the target?", she asked, trying to get a look.

He pulled his scroll away from her,"Look here toots. I'm the leader and you will wait for me to tell you what to do got it?!"

At this point, Rizu had enough. With a huff and a tap of his blade against his knee guard, he stormed over to his leader and slammed the flat part of his blade against Zane's arm with all his might, then used his foot to hook his leg and drop him to the floor, stabbing his blade deep into the grass mere centimeters from his neck.

"Look here asshole. Ozpin may have decided for you to lead us, but if you expect us to follow you, you BETTER start acting like a leader and not like a worthless, prissy, entitled piece of trash", Rizu toxically warned,"Are we clear?"

The earthen haired boy just sighed in defeat and nodded, getting up after he was let up. After brushing himself off, Zane took another look at the message from Ozpin.

"Alright. So our target appears to be a Red Masque Nevermore. It's a massive Nevermore with white feathers and the bone mask part on its face is red", he explained dryly.

"Okay so where do we start? I think we are still deep in the woods", Ella added, wondering what to do.

Orion stepped up,"Well an avian of that size wouldn't be anywhere near the middle of the woods. They would normally be in a nest somewhere higher. If there is a large tree somewhere around here that stands out among the rest of them, then that's probably where we will find it"

Without any valid points to make to come up with a better suggestion, the other three just nodded and started walking in a random direction. Zane had Orion lead the way since he was the most experienced with this out of the group. The tall Faunus just trudged ahead, looking around at the trees to see if any were exceptionally tall. So began Team ZERO's first task: hunting a Red Masque Nevermore.

**A/N: Alright guys that's it for Chapter 3! Hopefully you guys liked it I know it was kinda short, but if it was any longer I wouldn't have any exciting content for Chapter 4! So I'll be working on that basically all day tomorrow so stay tuned!**


	4. We are All and We are One

**A/N: Hey all! Thanks for tuning in on another exciting chapter of **_Embers_**! Please enjoy this next chapter! And remember to send me OC's! **

Chapter Four: We are All and We are One

The sun inched closer and closer to the mountain range to show that the first day of hunting is coming to a close. Team ZERO was still very much searching for their target, a Red Masque Nevermore. The team had become weary and irritated as they have been searching for hours. As the once blue sky grew dim, Orion stopped walking, causing the group to stop with him.

"It's getting dark. We should worry more about finding shelter. We can continue worrying about the target in the morning", the Faunus said softly.

"But we haven't found it yet!", Zane whined.

"Ozpin did say that this hunt could take several days", Rizu interjected,"However he did make you the leader so I guess you have the final decision"

Zane just sighed,"Alright let's look for a shelter I guess. Hey Faunus you still got the backpack?"

Orion nodded and they kept blazing the trail. As they kept walking, Rizu tapped his blade against his knee guards, making that same tuning fork sound. He continued to do this periodically, much to the annoyance of his team, especially Zane. Before they knew it, the sky was almost completely dark and the tapping hadn't stopped. Finally, Zane had snapped.

"Would you stop that racket?! You are driving me insane with that constant tapping! Why do you do it anyway?", the swordsman asked frustratedly.

Rizu took a while to answer,"I don't have to answer that. What I do isn't your business, so shut up"

"Excuse me? I'm the leader of this team and I'm asking-...no. I'm DEMANDING that you tell me why you think it's necessary to keep making that damn noise! God if I didn't know any better I would say that you're blind!"

"..."

Rizu stayed silent, only looking towards Zane with a blank face, his eyes hidden behind his shades. It took a while to register, but Zane found the silence to be his answer.

"Woah wait. Are you really blind? Literally?", Zane asked cautiously.

Rizu just sighed and sheathed his tonfa blade and revolver,"Yes. I am physically blind. I cannot see. You happy now asshole? You gonna bully me now just like you bullied-..."

He paused abruptly, turning his head slightly like a radar dish.

"ORION!"

Orion looked behind him in reaction, gasping as an Ursa had snuck up behind him. He was so focused on Rizu's tapping and Zane's whining he couldn't sense it. Everything seemed to slow down as the only think Orion could hear was his rapidly increasing heart rate.

Bum-Bum

Bu-Bum

B-Bum

The Faunus tried to reach for his weapon, but moved his body too much, causing his weight to work against him and send him to the ground. The Ursa's titanic claw was nearing him. As Orion waited for the sweet embrace of death, he saw the Ursa get tackled by Rizu. The black-clad teen had leaped on top of the mighty beast, trying his best to hold him. As he reached for his blade, the beast toppled over on its back with Rizu getting caught under.

"Rizu no!", Ella cried as she ran towards it, gasping as she saw the tip of his blade pierce through the monster's chest.

Orion and Zane rushed to him, pulling the dead Grimm off of him. To their relief he had survived, but to their horror, he had a piece of the beast's bone spike impaling him. Rizu shook as the pain rocked his body. They wanted to pull it out, but they had to think of something to seal the wound so that he wouldn't bleed out. Ella noticed his jacket and got an idea, starting to unzip and remove it, starting with his left arm, much to his horror.

"Ella...w-wait! Don't-!"

As she finished removing the fleece jacket, she gasped shock at what she saw. His entire left arm was robotic. She finally understood why he kept this sleeve down. Rizu understood that his team finally knew his other secret, but right now had other issues that were more urgent at hand. Since nobody else seemed to know what to do, Zane spoke up, albeit reluctantly.

"Okay look, we gotta set up camp here. Orion, go set up a tent for Rizu. Ella and I will do what we can right here. Here let's put try and pull the spike out and then pressure the wound with his coat", he explained.

Rizu shook his head weakly,"It won't be enough. E-Ella you have to sear the wound closed"

"What?! That's insane!", she warned.

"There's no time to argue this! Zane?Pull it out. Ella? Cauterize the wound okay? I'll try and use my aura to do the rest", he explained, his breath shortening.

Realizing that they were out of options, the pair looked down at their wounded comrade and nodded, getting ready to aid him. Finally, Zane counted down.

"3...2...1!"

Hours passed into the starlit night as the campfire cracked and hissed as sparks flew everywhere around the three teens. Nobody has been able to sleep. Ella and Zane had successfully stabilized Rizu, leaving him to heal inside the tent. Orion stood cross legged in front of the fire, his eyes fixed upon the dancing flames. Ella was still shaken from having to burn her teammate just to help him. What if she had messed up? He could be dead. She may not have known him that well, but she didn't want to hurt anybody. The silence among them was deafening. Even Zane was uncomfortable from what had just happened. Sure he didn't like Rizu, but it was his job as his leader to make sure he didn't get hurt.

"I can't believe he risked his life to save me...", Orion muttered sheepishly.

"Orion...", Zane started.

"No. Don't tell me you w-would have done it because you wouldn't. You even told me to my face that I'm about as worthless as trash, so how could I trust you to have my back?"

The group sat there in another round of silence as Zane formulated an answer.

"Listen. I just have a bad history with the Faunus okay? Your kind has caused my family a lot of trouble. When I was little, my father took my brother and I on a walk through a local park. He was busy a lot so I didn't get to see him often. Our mother died giving birth to my little brother. During the walk, we were ambushed by members of a Faunus extremist group"

"I-It wasn't the White Fang right? They're a peaceful organization!", Orion defended.

"No it wasn't them. They're not around anymore but at the time they were called the Grimm Blades. They attacked us in the park and slaughtered my father and my little brother. As they got ready to kill me, my father's personal guard came along and gunned them all down. Thus the Grimm Blades were destroyed. Ever since then, I have feared the Faunus. So I started to bully them to help me get stronger. So...Orion...I'm sorry. It wasn't towards you personally. Seeing you so docile makes me kinda think that not all Faunus are bad...you know?", he finished, looking sheepish and embarrassed.

Orion looked over at Zane with a surprised face before shaking his hand. Ella smiled softly to herself. Maybe being in a team won't be so bad, she thought. Suddenly, the peace was disturbed by the sound of a zipper from the tent behind them. Rizu rose slowly from the shelter, staggering to his feet.

"R-Rizu don't you think you should rest some more?", Ella asked tenderly, still feeling guilty for having to burn him.

"I'll be fine. I just gotta shake off the excess pain and stretch a little. I...I guess I have some explaining to do", he said, defeat lacing his voice.

Zane was the first to speak,"Rizu. We may have had a rough start, but if we are gonna be stuck with each other for the foreseeable future, we need to open up and trust each other, as strange as it may sound"

With a hesitant nod and a tap from his blade and knee guard, he sat down on the grass between Orion and Ella. It took a while, but he eventually mustered the will to speak.

"I was born in Atlas and given up for adoption at birth. I guess my parents couldn't do with a son with a weak aura. When I was five, I got adopted by a retired Huntsman. His name was Kazuto Ichinose, but he was better known as DJ Fall, so that's the name I took as my surname. He ran a local night club, Rhythm Blades, in the city. Because he homeschooled me I didn't know anyone. When I was ten I discovered that he had been running an underground fight club, using a peculiar style called 'rhythm sync'. I began to learn how to fight in such a way. When I was twelve I had been given my own blade, Treble, and my own gun, Bass. The blade works like an acoustic resonator when tapped against metal, allowing me to 'feel' my surroundings"

The group sat attentively, listening to every detail he gave about himself. They were shocked that he had been given up, but then again, it had been a common trend in the world to give up your child if you weren't ready to have one. He continued his story.

"When I was fourteen, the Atlas military found out about the fight club and decided that the best way to rid themselves of it...was to burn it to the ground. The fire killed a lot of people inside including my adoptive father. When the building came down, I was still inside. I suffered damage to my occipital lobe from a blow to my head and I passed out. When I came to, I was blinded and my arm was crushed by some rubble. I had to cut it off and cauterize the wound by heating a steel plate and putting it against my stub. After that I wandered in darkness, passing out on the street from dehydration", he paused, looking down at the floor, seeming uncomfortable.

Ella and the others looked at each other, they're faces paled at the horror that had plagued Rizu's past. It was a miracle that he had survived this long. They all looked back at him as he sighed, removing his sunglasses for the first time that they had seen, revealing his eyes. His eyes glimmered from the firelight, the color being a tempered starlight silver. They were empty, devoid of any life, yet they burned with hatred. Ella was absolutely enchanted by them. As Rizu was about to continue, he tilted his head slightly to the right, closing his eyes as if he was focusing something.

"You guys hear that?", he whispered.

They waited.

And waited.

And finally, they heard it.

"Krrrreeeeeeaaaaaaawwwww"

The ear splitting cry of their target, the Red Masque Nevermore. Ella and Zane were the first to stand, scanning the night sky for it. Orion stood slowly and drew his bow, aiming at the sky while Rizu staggered to his feet, grunting in a bit of pain. Moments later, the group heard that spine-tingling screech again, but this time...louder. Ella looked directly above them, squealing a little in terror.

"Guys it's diving! We gotta move!", she called out.

"It's coming too fast we will never get away in time!", Rizu called back.

Zane thought of an idea and drew his katanas, the blades glowing orange and purple,"Let's try and scare it off! Hit it with everything you got!"

In unison the group began attacking. Zane slashed out shockwaves of lightning and fire energy while Rizu shot at it with his revolver. Orion used Ella's flames to engulf his arrows in fire, trying his best to scorch it. As if by sheer luck, the shots had hit the mighty avian square in the head, causing it to screech in pain and pull up, circling around to shake off the hits. In a hurry, the four ran off as quickly as they could, not looking back to the enraged predator. Ella tossed an orb of flame to a tree, setting it alight in hopes of distracting the avian. Much to the team's dismay, they had run out of ground as they had run to the edge of the forest where there was naught but a perilous cliff.

"Great now what do we do?", Zane groaned, out of breath from the running.

Rizu loaded his revolver and tapped his blade twice,"We fight it, as is our mission"

"If we work together, we can do it", Orion added, readying his bow.

Zane sighed and drew his blades again,"Then let's get to work"

The Nevermore rose into the sky, screeching loudly before scanning the ground for its prey, diving towards the group of students. Orion made the first move by firing an arrow into its left eye, hitting it straight on...yet forgotten he used a roped arrow. Before he knew it he was flying up towards the beast's head. With barely any time left, he switched the bow into it's battle axe form, taking three heavy swings at the Nevermore's head. Latching onto its head feathers, Orion held on for dear life as he tried to swing his axe at the monster's neck, only for the skin to prove too tough for just steel. Zane saw he was having trouble and decided to take action.

"Ella! Do you have any lightning dust on you?", Zane asked in a hurry.

"Yeah I have one canister why?"

"We gotta toss it up to Orion. Rizu is there a way we can slow it down?", Zane replied.

"Not that I can think of. Ella? You have any wind dust as well?", he asked.

"Yeah a little. Why?"

"Zane! Put on the parachute from the backpack. You can use that and Ella's wind to launch towards the bird"

After equipping the parachute onto Zane and giving him the vial of lightning Dust, Ella focused her aura into the wind Dust, finally creating a current to send him soaring into the sky. With sheer luck, he landed onto the beasts back, piercing his blades into it to hold on, causing the Grimm to start flying straight up.

"Orion! How are you holding up?", Zane shouted.

"J-Just peachy! What's the plan?", he called back.

"I'm gonna impale it with a vial of lightning type dust and then let go! When I do, just let go too! We'll use your arrows to land", he explained.

After explaining, the blade user starting climbing up the avian's back, using his twin blades to climb, eventually reaching its damaged eye socket. After driving the vial into the weakened flesh, he let go, grabbing onto Orion's hand, with the Faunus letting go of the rope for the pair to free fall. As they fell, Orion fumbled through his quiver, trying to rotate it to have a rope arrow. As soon as he did, he and Zane used it to swing from a large tree near the ground. As the Red Masque Nevermore began its descent, Zane made the final call.

"Ella! Open fire!"

With whatever remained of her last canister of Fire dust, the young woman formed a large flaming sphere before blasting it skyward. As the fireball flew, the Nevermore fell eventually the two meeting with explosive force. The blast was enormous, but not enough to stop the Grimm fully.

"Guys it didn't work! The vial didn't blow!", Zane cried.

"Don't worry! I can do this!", Ella assured.

With a deep, focused breath, she looked straight up at the diving Nevermore, her gaze meeting its eyes. All was silent around her as she used her aura to trigger the Dust, the vial exploding with thunderous magnitude. The Lightning energy electrocuted the monster from the inside out, almost instantaneously killing it. Boom, Ella thought to herself. The beast landed in a clearing not far from them. When they finally made their way to it, Zane spoke up.

"You think a fried Nevermore eyeball is good enough?"

**A/N: There we go! Man that was hard. Sorry if my action scene was shitty but I don't have a lot of practice in writing action so I'm sorry but I will get better. Anyway thanks for sticking with me and to those who have given me OC's thank you so much I will put them into the story as soon as I can! See you all next time!**


	5. The Challenge

Chapter Five: The Challenge

Nobody ever did find a vial of Doom Stalker venom for Professor Ozpin. When the first years asked about it, the headmaster explained it was just a hoax. There was no such thing as a Doom Stalker as it was made up as a sort of practical joke. Some of the other teams had spent hours wandering the Emerald Forest looking for it, much to Ozpin's, and even Professor Goodwitch's, amusement. Team ZERO just turned in an eyeball of the Red Masque Nevermore as their proof and were checked out. He said little to them other than a congratulations and a small smile before sending them to their dorm to fully unpack and arrange the room. Tired and worn, the four teenagers flopped onto the floor, not even bothering with the beds just yet.

"Can't believe I used so much Dust on just a stupid bird", Ella said exhaustedly.

Zane stretched his arms as he replied,"Yeah well, I used all my cartridges for my swords too"

"I need to make some new arrows", Orion added.

"And I need more bullets. And I need to sharpen my blade", Rizu finished.

Zane sighed in annoyance, but knew that they had a lot to do. Even now, after their initiation, the team still had half of their Saturday left to do what they needed to do.

Zane sat up,"Okay. We all need to clean ourselves up, re-supply and eat. So how's this. We take the rest of the afternoon to go off on our own and do what we need. At around six, let's meet up in the cafeteria for dinner where we can talk about the dorm. Agreed?"

"Agreed"

With that, the team split up to do what they had to do. Luckily there were departments all over campus that had what they needed. Rizu headed over to the Ammo Depot and ordered up some rounds and speed loaders for his revolver. To pay her reached into his pocket and yanked out his Atlas Military Funds Card. Although he couldn't see it, he winces in disgust at having to use it, reluctantly paying for his provisions before heading off to the dorm to sharpen his blade. Zane and Ella on the other hand headed over to the Dust Station for refills on canisters and capsules. Ella thought maybe it would be a good idea to get to know her leader a bit.

"So...how do your blades work? I've never seen weapons like those before", she asked curiously.

"Hm? Oh little Umbra and Aurora here have a special kind of Dust cartridge embedded into the hilts. Whenever I sheathe them, the blades get charged with fire and electricity, so when I pull them out, the blades are ready for action. 'Course when I run out of Dust, these babies just become regular swords, but I can manage"

"Oh? That's interesting..."

"What about you? Not really taken to physical weapons?", the heir asked.

"No no. I've been able to fight adeptly with just pure Dust. I really just want to become stronger and learn all there is to know about Dust and the power that I can gain from it", she explained. Her voice was plain...oddly plain.

"Careful there princess. Ambitions are cool but don't get all wrapped up in a mad search for power. Trust me. My dad took his search for the secret to unlocking the ultimate weapon for his grave", Zane warned.

Ella was slightly disturbed by what he said, staying silent on their way to their destination. After filling all of her canisters, she waved to Zane and headed off to the library to check it out. Zane decided to go over to the cafeteria early to see if he can 'score with the ladies'. As she made her way to the academy's library, her jaw hit the floor as she practically felt all the knowledge hit her. The enormous chamber was filled to the roof and back with books, manuscripts, manuals etc. Ella squealed inside as she began to run to find the Dust sector, eager to get started. She began to pile up different books in her arms until she couldn't carry any more of them. When she finally thought she had found every advanced book on Dust, something she as a first year wasn't expected to understand, she saw something else. High up on a tall shelf was an exceptionally small book in comparison to the rest. It was bright red and bright gold letters were on the spine, reading out: "Dust Embedding". Seeing no ladder around, the girl started using the shelves to climb. As she got closer and closer, she grew more and more tired, her strength draining. She thought the book was in her reach, so close in fact she could almost taste it. As she reached her hand out as far as she could, her foot slipped and down to fell. With a small yelp, she closed her eyes and braced herself for the coming impact...only for it not to happen. As her eyes fluttered open, she saw that she had been caught by none other than Orion! He was smiling awkwardly, carrying her bridal style, causing her to blush a deep tomato red.

"O-Orion? Thanks...I guess I should thank you", she said sheepishly.

"Nah. It's alright Ella. That's what friends are for...r-right?", he muttered cautiously as he set her back on her feet.

"Friends..."

"Something wrong?"

"Well it's just odd y'know? I've never had friends really. Back at Haven I kinda just had my books and myself", she explained, her redwood eyes drawn to the floor.

"Oh...I see. Well you know I didn't have many friends growing up either. Just me and some old family friends' kids", he replied, equally as sad looking.

As the pair just sat against the shelves, Ella looked to the Faunus and asked,"Hey. When Zane was bullying you...you said you didn't come here because you wanted to. What did you mean?"

The Faunus grew deathly silent, just pulling his knees up to his chest like a fearful child anticipating a beating.

"S-Sorry. I guess that's none of my business", she muttered.

"N-No it's okay! I just...I've never opened up like this before so it's kinda new. Anyway...I grew up in Mistral. My dad Scorpio Maxima was a champion of the Vytal Tournament back when he was my age. He was the absolute best! He was so strong and so fast! When he grew up, he had committed a taboo: he fell in love with a Faunus. Her name is Artemis. When they were married, my father lost his credibility and reputation. When my mother got pregnant it was even worse. My father received death threats and my mother had been the victim of muggings while she was pregnant with me. When I was born, my mother died. I was born a week early because another beating had forced her into labor...", he trailed off, some tears forming.

"I-I'm so sorry...so technically you're only half Faunus?", she asked carefully.

"Yeah. But as much as I am bullied and put down, I'm proud of being a Faunus...so I identify myself as a full one and not a human. When I got old enough, my dad started training me to fight. The training was rigorous and hard, but I made it through. My father wanted me to be the best that I could to restore his honor and to uphold the name of Maxima. When I got older, I had found out that Faunus were still being ridiculed in the world and I became afraid to go here, yet my father was set on making me into a Huntsman...so here I am"

Ella's eyes were wide with disbelief. She couldn't believe that someone could be accepting of bullying and ridicule, yet work so hard. All of this to prove he was good enough for his father? To uphold a name?

"Tell me Orion...what exactly is it that you want to do?", she asked again.

"Well...I want to help the Faunus. I want to bring equality to Remnant amongst all its people. And maybe as a Huntsman, I'll have the resources to do just that. It's what mom would have wanted", he finished.

Ella smiled at her companion. His intentions were good, unlike many aspiring Huntsman and Huntresses. A lot of them were just in it for the glory. She put a hand on his knee, looking up at him.

"I bet your mom and even your dad are so proud of you. Hell you have caught me twice already and I haven't even known you for a week", she giggled a little at the memory of her tumbling onto him in the forest.

"Hehe yeah...say...why do you want to become a Huntress?",

That question hit her like a sack of doorknobs. She was always uneasy talking about her past, yet Orion seemed so comfortable. Maybe it's only fair, she thought. After all he did just share his life story.

"Well...you see-"

DING!

The ash-brunette sighed as she reached into her dress pocket to pull out her scroll, seeing a message from Zane to meet in the cafeteria. With a small groan, she stood up, sending him a quick reply.

"Was that Zane?", Orion asked.

"Yeah. He and Rizu are waiting for us. I guess I will have to come here later. I'll tell my story another time", she sighed, feeling all that would-be knowledge slip away, yet relieved at not having to share her past.

As the pair found their way to Zane and Rizu's table, they were shocked to see meals already set aside for them, with their companions already chowing down. Zane was monstrously munching on a sandwich, while Rizu was poking at his plate, trying to find a stray pea. Ella say next to Rizu with Orion sitting across from her, next to Zane.

"Where did you guys get all this food?", Ella asked as she took a fork and started twirling her pasta.

"Rizu bought it. This dude has got insane amounts of money. Almost like me!", Zane said proudly.

"How did you afford this?", Orion questioned.

Rizu sighed softly and reached into his wallet, pulling out his Atlas Military Funds card. The group gasped, unable to believe he had such a card. Zane looked up at his blind companion, looking more skeptical than curious. As if reading his thoughts, Ella spoke up.

"Does this card have something to do with your past? You never got to finish telling us", she said, looking intently at Rizu.

Although he was blind, he knew that his teammates eyes were piercing into him, silently demanding him to talk. The dark-clad boy sighed and set down his fork.

"After I left the ruins of my old home, I wandered around Atlas, eventually passing out like I said. When I came to, there was someone watching over me. A girl. Her name was Sirena. She had seen me fight before in the club and had apparently been squatting in an abandoned theater building. In order to stay in her place I had to teach her how to fight. When I had finished teaching her, she had matched my skill and sometimes overpowered me. About seven months after my fifteenth birthday, we were attacked again by the Atlas Military. They had branded me a fugitive from being a part of my adoptive fathers illegal activities"

Rizu started to shudder as he spoke, a seething anger emanating from him. The group could faintly hear the gyros in his mechanical arm whirring and tightening. With a deep breath, he continued.

"Sirena and I fought off those P.O.S. combat bots that Atlas sent at us. There were so many...and I could only do so much with one arm and being blind. When the fighting made it out into the street, we got separated. Sirena was still inside the building when Atlas started dropping Dust bombs. It wasn't too much destruction...but it was enough take down the building. My only home and friend was taken from me. So I gave up and was taken into custody. When I was in prison, I was visited by General Ironwood. He had seen footage of me fighting his 'soldiers' and decided to give me a choice. Use my skills to become a Huntsman or face life in prison. Obviously you know what I chose. They slapped this metallic abomination to my body and I honed my skills, channeling my hate."

It was then that Ella and the others understood. He hated the Atlas military. He hated the forces that took away everything from him. He just hated his arm, himself and everything that stood in his way. Zane spoke up.

"Well hey man, at least you don't have to hate stuff alone anymore. You have well...us to share your hate with. I mean we are a team so we might as well act like one. Sure we might have problems with each other and we might not get along all the time, but at least we can try to get through this", he finished.

"That was probably the most selfless thing you have ever said", Ella said dryly.

"Oh don't get me wrong. I'm still leagues better than all of you, but you guys are alright", he said snidely. That was the Zane they knew (even if only for a short time).

Suddenly, Orion started to chuckle softly, eventually growing into a hearty laugh. Ella began giggling along with him with Zane following suit. Rizu just chuckled softly with them, enjoying the moment they had. The moment of peace was not to last however, as they heard Professor Ozpin sound off on the loud speakers.

"Attention students. Tomorrow will be the first sparring day. Teams will be randomly matched up against each other in a friendly sparring match. Tomorrows match will consist of-...drum roll please Glynda?", the professor asked.

"I would prefer not to sir", Professor Goodwitch's voice could also be heard faintly from the speakers.

"...Team ARES vs Team ZERO"

**A/N: Alright guys thanks a ton for sticking with me for this long! For those who sent me OC's thank you so much! I will work towards putting them in. See you all next time!**


	6. ARES

Chapter Six: ARES

Tick

Tick

Tick

The constant ticking of Professor Port's desk clock seemed to only get louder and louder as the farfetched story of his droned on and on. He was going on about a Death Stalker and how he had single handedly killed the beast or something to that effect. The majority of Team ZERO had barely been able to focus at all during classes all day. After this class, they were to engage in a team versus team sparring match. Ella was jotting down notes faster than lightning, seeing as she was the only one who could still focus. Orion was having trouble keeping up, being that he wasn't always the brightest of students, so he ended up just doodling in a little notebook. Where he lacked in academic prowess, he made up for in heart and loyalty. Zane was snoring lightly in his chair next to Rizu, having fallen asleep shortly after the lecture started. Rizu was listening to some techno music in his headphones, tapping his finger on the desk softly. The group was able maintain their peace, until Professor Port caught three of the four members goofing off.

"Ahem! Mister Noctis!", Port sounded off, getting the attention of all except Rizu, who couldn't hear.

Zane woke with a start,"I didn't do it you can't prove that I did!"

The rest of the class barreled over in laughter, earning Zane nothing but embarrassment and shame. He simply sat down and nudged Rizu to take his headphones off, which he reluctantly complied.

"Right-o then. Mister Noctis how's about you and your...team leave early Hm? If I recall you have an important match in about an hour. You should maybe focus all your precious energy preparing instead of wasting time when I am trying to tell a riveting story!"

"Y-Yeah. C'mon guys lets Uh...get out of here", he said awkwardly, picking up his books and adjusting the tie on his uniform.

Zane lead the way out of the classroom with the rest of his group following suit. They said no words, but they knew what each of them was thinking. Team ZERO had all of a few hours of experience actually working together. Up until initiation, the four teens practically were at each other's throats. They had no clue what they would be up against in terms of their opponents, Team ARES.

Orion broke the silence,"So...do we know anything about Team ARES?"

"Not that I have heard", Ella sighed,"Since we didn't have a ceremony for naming teams like in past years, I have no clue who they are"

"Maybe we could check the training room", Rizu stated,"If they are there then we might be able to asses them"

"What about you? You can't...well you can't really asses if you can't see...", Zane said carefully, not wanting to incur the wrath of his comrade.

Rizu sighed softly and put his sunglasses on,"Yeah but you three could at least tell me what you see. That way I could make my own assessment"

With a simple nod from Ella and Orion, the team set off towards the training room. As Orion opened the doors for them, the three members with sight gaped at what they saw. The training room was decked out with all sorts of equipment. Weapon racks, a small shooting range, a Dust station, compartments full of training dummies, practice equipment a boxing ring were barely the start of the amount of equipment stored inside. What was more amazing to them was what seemed to be an elite fighting team. Team ZERO stood at one of the walls and just observed, save for Rizu who just listened. One of the instructors turned and saw them, seeming angry.

"Hey! Nobody is allowed in here! This is reserved for Team ARES until the match!", he barked, only to be knocked down by his sparring partner.

The offender was a raven-haired young woman. Her hair was strung into a single, long braid that stretched down to her behind, the dark color of her hair accenting her intense, garnet orbs, glaring down at her instructor. She was wearing a red tank top and black gym shorts, her assets showing as well as her toned muscles and core. The ravenette took a sip from a water bottle before tossing it away.

"C'mon! Let them watch us who cares! Get up and fight back! You got me all riled up so let's dance!", she sadistically remarked.

"Sister...you really must learn to control your rage. As much as you rely on it to fight, remember that your strength can be used against you", said a shorter girl off to the side.

The younger looking female had long golden locks that fell perfectly to her waist. Her bored-looking amber eyes were fixed on the dark haired girl, as she sat in a chair next to the ring, twirling the ends of a golden whip between her fingers, her face flat and devoid of emotion. She was wearing a sunrise-orange colored shirt covered by a small red-leather jacket with white jeans and red high-heel boots. Zane couldn't tear his eyes away from her if he tried.

"Whatever sis. How are the other two doing?", the muscular female asked the beautiful blonde.

She set down her whip in her lap and looked over her shoulder,"Seems that they are doing just fine"

In the direction she was looking were two more teenagers. They seemed about the same age as the first two. The first was a blonde Faunus with what looked like weasel-like ears on his head. He had donned a plain white t-shirt with blue jeans and brown combat boots. He was tall and toned, his arms chiseled and solid. His jade eyes were focused and peerless, never taking his eyes off of those of his opponent. The weasel-man was wielding a wooden longsword, deftly defending and parrying his opponents strikes. Ella could feel her cheeks light up as she kept staring. They lit up even more when he spoke.

"Ha! Take zat! You are getting faster, but you must admit...my defense is eh...top-notch non?", he teased, his accent light but clear.

"Tch...stop screwing around and give me a real challenge you stupid rodent!", the last girl seethed playfully.

This last girl had short brown hair, the longer top end was swept to the left, semi-covering her left eye, them radiating a fierce emerald color. She had pale skin and wore a green tank top with matching shorts and used dual practice Rapiers, her attacks swift and precise. A smile was clear on her face as she kept sparring. As the instructor finally got up, he groaned in pain and bumped knuckles with the female with ebony hair.

"Okay guys that's enough for right now. Take a break...ugh I need a pill", the middle-aged man moaned as he stepped out of the ring, heading to the bathroom.

The blonde beauty stood and walked towards Team ZERO, a friendly smile on her face as she reached her hand out towards Zane, much to his shock. He took it without another thought nonetheless.

"Hi. I'm Eos Nikos. That's my sister over there Areana. Over there is Roland and Si-...", her words cut off when she looked towards the group's lion-like Faunus,"O-Orion?! Is that you?"

Orion stood agape,"Eos! It's you! C'mere you!", he said in an abnormally happy way, giving her a big bear-...lion hug.

"Oh gosh it's been too long! You never told me you were coming to Beacon!", she cooed, letting him go.

"I know I'm sorry. Oh! How's little Pyrrha doing? She must be about seven now right?"

"Yup! She's so strong! Oh and even bigger news, she already has learned to use her aura! Isn't that great?"

Zane interrupted,"I-I'm sorry but uh...I'm guessing you two know each other?"

Orion blushed a little,"Y-Yeah. The Maxima's and the Nikos' have been family friends for ages. Eos, Areana and I used to play and train when we were younger. I would be trash if it wasn't for their help"

The girl labeled as Areana leaped out of the ring and charged at Orion like a bull,"ORION!"

"Oh shi-OOF!"

The tough female tackled him to the floor and put him in a headlock, chuckling heartily.

"Been too long ya oaf!", she laughed, holding on with Herculean strength.

"L-Let go! C'mon save it for the sparring session okay?", he pleaded.

After her laughter dies down she lets go, helping him up and playfully slugging him in the arm before standing next to Eos.

"So then! Who are these friends of yours?", Areana asked, her unwavering eyes scanning the whole of Team ZERO"

"The name's Zane"

"Ella's my name, Dust is my game"

"...Rizu"

Eos smiled softly,"What a nice group of comrades you have found Orion. Now-"

"...wait...", a cold and pained voice came from the other end of the room.

The brunette who had been fighting the weasel suddenly picked up a real rapier. Her eyes burned with disgust, pain, sadness and rage all at the same time. She ran towards the blind teen, leaping and raising her right blade for a slash right towards his throat. Rizu's senses kicked in, his left arm shooting up and blocking the blow, the blade shattering against his metallic arm.

"Y-You...you bastard!", the girl cried, trying to lunge at him again only for Areana to hold her back.

Rizu's empty eyes widened behind his shades,"...S...Sirena?!"

"Hold on a minute. This is the Sirena you were talking about?", Ella asked, genuinely shocked.

"Yes...this is her", was his solemn reply as he stepped towards her,"Sirena...I...I thought you had died in that building"

"Well I didn't. You trained me so you should know better", she spat.

"Yes...I suppose I should have. Had I known I wouldn't have let my guard down. I'm sorry you thought I abandoned you...", he said lowly, his voice pained and again...hateful, but more towards himself.

Areana let Sirena go for the girl to get a little closer to him and give him a hug, smiling a little as a tear cascaded down her cheek. After a few seconds she realized what was happening and shook off her sentiment, clearing her throat.

"Seems we have a lot of catching up to do, but I think that we have to focus more on the match", she said bluntly, crossing her arms.

"Yes. As a matter of fact we do. Seems that our session is in about 30 minutes", Ella stated, matter-of-factly.

With a nod and another round of handshakes, Team ZERO departed, making their way to the dorm to prepare themselves for the upcoming match. Rizu trailed behind the rest, his hand on the wall as a guide for direction. As they got the dorm and changed, Ella became increasingly worried about Rizu's attitude, seeing him sharpen his blade vigorously. She cautiously walked up to him.

"Rizu...are you okay? I know that Sirena is a close frie-", she was abruptly cut off.

"This changes nothing. In the arena, they are not friends. They are foes", he snapped,"I'm sure Orion will treat the Nikos sisters just as I will treat Sirena"

His voice was sharp like winter's chill. He loaded his revolver and bolstered it, retracting his blade into the handle along with it, attaching it to his belt. Ella just sighed and slid her hands into some red gloves that she had embedded with Fire Dust in the morning before class.

"Time to test these out", she muttered to herself, smiling as they began to glow with a bright crimson color as she generated a fireball in her hand before blowing it out.

"Nice gloves Ella", Zane cheered, patting her back.

"Thanks. This way I can call upon my fire without a canister. And I can shape it better", she explained, sounding like a giddy child.

Orion loaded the last of his arrows into his quiver, standing up and folding the bow into it's axe form to signal that he was ready, and with unified nod, the group was finally prepared. Zane led them all to the sparring arena, his chest puffed out and he was smirking proudly, but was met with no reaction, surprised by the lack of students in the halls. It would be around lunch time, so students would usually be wandering about, or at least heading to the cafeteria. As prepared as the team was for battle, nothing could have prepared them for what would happen when they opened that door.

**A/N: Alright! I know it's kinda short but it will allow me for more detail for the big battle. I also wanna thank all the supporters for the Embers project! Please follow my story for updates in the future and I'll see you all next time!**


	7. Tears of Flame

Chapter Seven: Tears of Flame

"And now introducing...Team ZERO!", cried a fourth year student over the loudspeaker, with a raging applause resonating through the room.

Team ZERO were nothing less than appalled as they entered the sparring arena. The seats surrounding the ring were filled to the brim with students of all grades. Their opponents, Team ARES stood on one end of the arena, all readying themselves. Areana was smiling devilishly as she ran the blade of her kopis sword along the spiked melee gauntlet on her left arm, her blood-red eyes boring into her opponents. She was equipped with a black light-metal cuirass and red steel shin guards. Her sister wore the same uniform from the training room, save for a few spare Dust cylinders around her waist. Roland had donned a chainmail top with hardy leather boots and gloves, a broadsword attached to his hip, his viridian eyes blankly staring at Ella, causing her to blush again. Sirena stared over at Rizu as she sheathed her twin rapiers, the bottom of the hilt in the shape of what seemed like a microphone. Her body was hugged well by a dark green knee-length dress with matching combat heels.

Team ZERO took their places, lined up perfectly on the opposite side of the arena, weapons ready. Ella could feel her gloves light up as her heart raced excitedly. Zane stared menacingly at the other team (though managing to take a wink at Eos, who only reacted with a slight tilt of her head). Orion seemed more tough than usual, the grip he held on his axe, Starbreaker, was tighter than normal. Rizu cocked his revolver and tapped his blade once, smirking slightly. It was then that Professor Ozpin took the mic from the student from before.

"Welcome students. Today will be the first of many sparring days. Each of these days will have different conditions and different teams will fight. On this glorious day, we have Zane Noctis, Ella Blaze, Rizu Fall and Orion Maxima as Team ZERO. Their opponents are Areana Nikos, Roland Chevalier, Eos Nikos and Sirena Sinbad. When you are ready...begin", Ozpin finished, sounding ominous, yet intrigued, sitting down next to Professor Goodwitch.

As his words echoed, the crowd began to roar with applause, cheering them on, some students even making bets. When the applause died out, the arena was deathly silent, an intense vibe hanging in the air. Rizu's teammates could hear the gears whirring and grinding as his grip became taught on his weapons. Ella could feel the heat begin to build in her gloves, her hands balled into fists as the silence continued.

Roland took his stance and drew his sword, holding it with two hands, seeming to be in a defensive position. Areana leaned forward, ready to strike as her sister stood upright, looking like a goddess. Eos' whip was fully extended and trailing behind her, the length of it glowing a bright red. Sirena drew her rapiers and held them pointed down at her side, her eyes focused and cold. As Zane was about to charge, he froze, his eyes widening and his breath short. His gaze fell upon a tattoo on Roland's neck, partially concealed. It was the shape of a black blade.

"...it...can't be...", he barely muttered.

Ella looked to him carefully,"Zane?"

"...the...the Faunus...he's...HE'S MINE!", the teen cried wrathfully, his swords drawn and brimming with energy as he charged towards the weasel.

Orion gasped as he saw Areana rush towards his comrade, prompting him to fling his titanic axe toward her at full force, only for Eos to tangle the handle in her whip's mighty grasp and sending it back at him. The lion luckily grabbed it, charging into the fray. Areana tackled Zane down with a shoulder charge, sending him flying, only for him to recover. She was shocked to see the look of not focus, but rage on his face.

"This is supposed to be a friendly spar pal", she warns.

He growls lowly,"Get out of my way before I kill you too!"

Her eyes widened as he slashed waves of lightning and fire energy at her, barely able to dodge them. Glynda Goodwitch gasped softly and stood up, only for Ozpin to sit her back down with a shake of his head. Ella rushed in to help Orion, launching flaming orbs at Roland. In response, he raised his sword, the edges extending into the shape of a shield, blocking them burning spheres with ease. As the flames subsided, Roland charged with the shield out in front, trying to ram into Orion, only for him to leap over him, swinging his axe at Eos, only to miss by her agile movements and dodges. Areana began to get angrier, having trouble keeping Zane away from her comrade.

"Look punk don't make me knock you out!", she howled, slashing at him fiercely, steel meeting steel.

Meanwhile Sirena and Rizu were clashing to the sidelines, her swift, flowing sword swipes and thrusts being met with his rhythmically times blocks with his tonfa blade, trying to trip her up with shots from his revolver, occasionally tapping his knee plates to 'see'. Their rhythms were in sync, each one trying to overcome the other. The brunette huffed as her former master cut a strand of her bangs, seeing her hair fall to the floor as gracefully as a ballroom dancer.

"Still a little too slow", Rizu marked, twirling his blade in a figure-eight.

"Humph. We will see who's too slow!", she cheers, charging in again.

Orion roared with vigor as he kept swinging away at Eos, missing every swipe. She was simply too agile for his heavy build. Her whip lashed him several times over, luckily not too hard.

"You have become strong Orion. Yet you lack finesse", Eos chimed.

He huffed,"You're fast as ever Eos...but I have gotten better. I will beat you!"

"You will not. Because your team has yet to learn to work together", she warned.

He growled a little, and although he didn't want to admit it, his team was completely scattered. Ella's flames were wild and unfocused. Rizu was focused too much on one opponent. Last of all, Zane was letting his rage consume him, making his attacks sloppy. They had to work together if they were going to succeed. Roland reverted the shield into it's sword form and began slashing at Ella, barely missing his attacks.

Ella huffed as she dodged, seeing her teammates all around start to lose control, beginning to falter and tire. Her heart raced as her breathing became short and sharp, her eyes watering. Her mind began to crack, dark memories flooding back like a tidal wave. She gripped her head like she was in pain, her body quivering like leaf. Ella fell to her knees, leaving Roland confused yet he left her to aid his own team. One by one, Ella saw her friends fall in defeat, yet in her eyes, they were dying, and she was powerless to save them. As the whole of Team ARES approached her to land a knock out blow and win the match, they were shocked to see strange glowing symbols and glyphs forming around her, rotating around her. They began to shine brighter and brighter as Ella stood, her eyes now a bright gold.

"Y-You...you will for this...mother...", she seethed, heat now emanating from her.

Areana stood confused,"Mother?"

"You will pay for this! You will b-", she was cut off as Roland had snuck around and struck her head with the pommel of his sword, knocking her out.

The crowd was deathly silent, no applause as everyone was in shock of what had just happened. Ozpin stood up and took the mic again.

"Team ZERO...come with me to my office. Everyone else...dismissed", he ordered dryly, heading off to his chamber.

Orion stood up and carried Ella, her now resting peacefully. Zane and Rizu sheathing their weapons and following Ozpin to his office. As they sat themselves down, with Orion setting Ella in her own chair to rest in. Ozpin just sighed as he sat down, pinching the bridge of his nose before locking his fingers together and looking at them.

"Okay...so let's start with Zane. This was supposed to be a friendly sparring match, not a fight to the death. Yet the way you fought and what you were saying...correct me if I'm wrong but you wanted to kill Mr. Chevalier", he said cautiously.

"Well maybe that wouldn't have happened if you did proper background checks on your students and not let terrorists in your school!", Zane shouted.

"I'm not sure I follow, Mr. Noctis."

Zane sighed,"That kid has a tattoo on his collar area. It's the symbol of the Grimm Blades, the extremist group behind the deaths of my father and my brother, along with other members of the Noctis work force"

"You think he was the one who killed your father?"

"No. But his father is one of the conspirers behind it. One of the members responsible was Jacque Chevalier. I have no reason to believe that he is any different than his father, especially if he bears the mark", he seethes.

Ella's eyes started fluttering open, rubbing the back of her head and groaning a little in pain. Her eyes had gone back to their normal color.

"You okay?", Rizu asked, hearing her groan.

"Y-Yeah...just...head hurts...", She mumbles.

"Miss Blaze...please tell us what happened in there...", Ozpin was practically begging to know, concern laced in his tone.

Ella sat there, her eyes drifting to the floor like a child in trouble. She crossed her arms, a stream of tears cascading down her cheeks. Her voice was shaky as she began to speak.

"My mother died when I was really young...I wanna say about four. My father met someone new when I was seven. She was a cruel woman. She would always break things and blame me for it so my father would yell at me. This woman didn't love my father. She was just using him for his wealth. My stepmother milked him for everything he was worth...and when she could take nothing more, she...she killed him. I was twelve. I ran away from home. I couldn't last that long so I came back", she took a shaky breath before continuing,"When I returned...my stepmother was sleeping with some other man. I was so angry...so hateful. I needed revenge. For my father...and for myself. I snuck into the house and while they were asleep, I soaked the bed and the room with gasoline from our shed. And then...I threw in a lit match. I watched from outside my house in the cold, watching my house burn down...and listening to the dying screams of my stepmother and the other man", she sobbed a little, hiding her face.

The rest of Team ZERO and even Ozpin paled at the story that was being told. They couldn't believe that she had done something like that. Ozpin sighed softly.

"Did the police not catch you? I mean...for all intents and purposes they could have arrested you"

"There wasn't enough evidence. The police declared the cause of the fire a stray cigarette and sent me to a foster home. The feeling I got from burning her...it made me feel powerful. So I swore to myself that I would become powerful. That way I wouldn't let anyone I care about get hurt ever again...but...I was too afraid up until now to have any friends. So when I saw the team losing on the battlefield, I got scared and I began to remember my stepmother. So that is why I wish to be a Huntress", she finished.

The room fell silent, the others trying to process the information they were fed. Ozpin cleared his throat as to break the silence.

"We'll Miss Blaze. I believe you have the potential to become quite powerful. Just...remember to use that power for good. Okay?", he asked.

"Of course Professor", she sighed in relief that she wasn't being arrested or expelled.

"Besides...you now have a set of wonderful friends", he chimes, standing up.

"Yeah...I just gotta control my flames", she muttered, feeling ashamed still for losing control.

Zane just smiled,"Don't worry Ella. You got us. Right Orion?"

Orion smiled and pats her back,"Yeah! Right Rizu?"

"...yeah", a slight smirk was visible on his face.

The group chuckled a little bit, standing and turning to leave the room at Ozpin's discretion. Ella turned around and looked to her headmaster.

"Thank you...sir", she smiled.

He raised his mug to her,"Remember Ella, power will not fill the void your father left"

She smiled softly and nodded before departing with her friends. Ozpin's smile vanished as he sat back down, shaking his head. From behind the curtains that draped behind him, Glynda Goodwitch approached him.

"What do you think Professor?", she asked.

It took a moment for him to reply,"I want a sharp eye on Miss Blaze and Mr. Noctis. We need to make sure...that they stay safe"

**A/N: And there we go! That's chapter seven! If the action scene was bad I'm sorry I don't have too much experience. Oh! I have a few things to talk about. Number 1! To clear the air here, yes I do write all of this on my phone. I do not have a PC to type on and I am a lot more efficient here anyway. Number 2! I urge you all to make an account and follow me that way if I have little contests, gimmick and such you can all PM me and I can reply. Also works for OC requests and such. And to all who have given me OC's thank you again! See you all next time!**


	8. Testing Bonds

Chapter Eight: Testing Bonds

A week had gone by since the sparring match, yet the team as a whole was still shaken. Any time that Zane wasn't in class, he was stalking the halls in search of Roland in order to settle the score. Ella spent all her time on her side of the room or in the library, researching everything she could on Dust and how to harness it perfectly, much to Orion's disappointment. In his mind, Eos' warning kept chiding him.

"Your team has yet to learn to work together", her words echoed in his head.

Rizu was still just Rizu. He kept to himself in any free time he had, just listening to his music or his audio textbooks for studying. Orion was surprised that he wasn't training, especially after Sirena beat him in the match. However, through all of his cold indifference, even Rizu worried about Ella. With a sigh of frustration, he stood up from his bed, tapped his blade and walked over to Ella, closing her book...much to her annoyance.

"Rizu?! What was that for?! Now I have to find my place again", she groaned, reaching for her book, only to be stopped.

"You have to rest is what you have to do. You have been reading these damn books day in and day out for the past week! All I hear when I'm here is the constant turning of pages and books dropping on the floor. I can feel the heat from your reading lamp at night too, so don't tell me you aren't tired!", he barked.

"Since when do you care?! You just sit around and sulk all day! You don't even go to the training room to better yourself!"

"Because I don't need to!"

"Why? You think you're better than us?"

"No I-"

"You think you're the best one here?"

"No!"

"Because if you were the best you wouldn't have lost to Sirena!"

"I LET HER WIN!"

The teens at this point were face to face, exhausted from the yelling, yet Ella was shocked. After what he said about being ruthless before the match, he had let his opponent win. Rizu just sat down on his bed, shaking his head.

"I let her beat me", he sighed shamefully.

"Why? I thought you said-"

"I know what I said!", he snapped, before correcting his tone,"I know...but I owed her. She believed that I had abandoned her. I believed she was dead. Just...I felt like I owed her"

Ella and Orion just looked at their solemn teammate, staring at him pitifully. He could feel their eyes fixated on him. The lion was the first to speak.

"Look guys. We need to learn to work together. Eos told me that in the arena. Not just on the battlefield but in the real world we need to work together. Ella...you can't expect to become stronger by yourself. We all want to be better, but we can't just be loners. If we keep doing that then nobody will get stronger", he explained.

Ella sighed frustratedly,"What about Zane? He won't stop until he beats Roland's head in"

"Then we have to stop him. But we have to stop him together", Rizu piped up.

With a unified agreement, the trio headed off into the halls in order to find their leader. They wandered around the dorms, calling out to him, only for silence to answer. After an hour, the teens saw him from a window. Zane was sitting in a tree, looking at what appeared to be a photo. From this distance the others couldn't make out what it was, so they filed outside to meet him. Ella walked cautiously over to the tree and spoke.

"Zane? Are you alright?", Ella called.

"Unless you know where Roland is, I don't wanna talk", he said flatly, his eyes fixed on his photo.

Rizu sighed,"Look we can do this the easy way, or we can have Orion chop the tree down. Your call"

Zane groaned and jumped down and faced his team, who were shocked at what he saw. His eyes were worn and weary, showing his lack of rest. Ella walked over to him.

"Zane. We...we understand you hate the Grimm Blades and what they did to your family, but killing Roland won't fix anything. He might be a legitimately nice person", she explained.

"You're just saying that because you think he's attractive", he snapped.

"N-No I'm not! I mean yes I think he's attractive but that doesn't mean he is a bad person", she defended.

"You don't get it! The Grimm Blades took my only family away from me! Do you have any idea what it's like to see them die right in front of you?!", he shouted, getting in her face.

Orion stepped forward,"Hey man, don't take it out on her we ju-"

"Orion", Ella cut him off,"Let him"

"They were ripped from existence by those monsters! The Grimm Blades took everything from me! Do you have any idea what the hell that is like Ella?! DO YOU?!", he cried to the high heavens.

His breaking voice echoed throughout the yard, catching the attention of some passers by. Zane's eyes began to water as the memories returned to him, causing him to cover his face shamefully, hating others to see him so weak. It was silence, save for his slight sobbing...until Ella took a deep breath and spoke.

"Yes. Yes I do Zane. We all do. Though I was hidden...I saw my stepmother kill my father in cold blood. She shot him because he had nothing left to give her. There was nothing more but life that she could take, so I had to watch my only family beg in a futile attempt to keep his life. I'm not the only one to go through this. Orion? He never even knew his mother, and Rizu lost his arm and his eyesight. We all have been through pain...maybe that's why Ozpin put us together", she said, her voice soothing and soft.

Zane looked up at her,"But what if he is just like his dad? What if he's a monster?!"

"Killing him will not make you feel better. It won't fill the space that my father left when he was murdered. When I burned my home and my stepmother, the void in my heart didn't go away. If anything it got bigger", she continued.

Rizu stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder,"Revenge is like a forest. The deeper you go, the faster you will get lost"

Orion smiled,"We may not be the best fighters, or the best of friends, but we are a team, for better or worse. And we need to learn to trust each other just like we did in the forest. You even said that yourself Zane"

Zane wiped his face and looked to all of his teammates. Deep inside, he knew they were right. He sighed and just nodded to them, accepting his folly.

"For what it's worth...thanks guys. So...what now?", he asked.

"Well I think we should visit Team ARES and make peace with them", the lion Faunus replied.

As a team, the four made their way to the dorm of ARES, with Zane knocking on it awkwardly. Areana opened the door with an irritated expression on her face.

"What do you want Noctis?", she growled.

"Look, we just all want to make peace okay? Don't worry I'm not gonna go all cuckoo for Choco Spheres okay?", he assured.

Her eyes looked over the team once more before letting them in. Sirena was on her bed lost in music, lip-synching to whatever song she had blasting through her headphones. Roland was swinging his sword around, honing his strikes while Eos was watching him, her eyes fixed on his blade. Zane walked over to Roland and extended his hand for a handshake without a word. Roland just sat down and sheathed his sword.

With a sigh, he spoke,"Zane...I apologize for ze horrible monstrosities that my father and his companions caused you, but I assure you I am not like them. I am merely a victim of my lineage. The mark I bear was forced upon me as a child by my father. But now that I am on my own, I walk my own path, the path of a true Chevalier"

Zane just patted his shoulder,"I'm sorry for trying to kill you. Friends?"

"Oui", the Faunus replied.

Before long, the two teams were at peace and just talking amongst themselves, getting to know one another. Zane had started to hit on Eos, much to Areana's annoyance. Orion tried catching up with Areana whilst trying to keep her from killing Zane in the process. Ella and Roland were talking, with the Faunus throwing in some flirts into the conversation. Rizu was just sitting with Sirena, looking down at the floor, pondering his situation.

"Why did you let me win?", Sirena cut in, interrupting the blind boy's thoughts.

"Pardon?", he asked, feigning innocence.

"You heard me no-eyes. You let me win. Why?"

"I felt like I owed you for leaving you behind", he sighed, sounding defeated.

"Look, you didn't really leave me behind. So...how about next time...you give it your all okay?", she asked, faint traces of a blush on her cheeks.

He simply turned his head in her direction and stared towards her, nodding. Although it wasn't ideal, and his team had yet to fit in with each other, Team ZERO and ARES alike felt that this was the start of something good.

**A/N: There we go! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait for this to turn into an actual series. Thanks to all that have supported us so far!**


	9. Sigh of the Moon

Chapter Nine: Sigh of the Moon

Pale moonlight poured into the room of Team ZERO, creating a light among the darkness in the room. The four students were trying their best to rest up for tomorrow: assessment day. Tomorrow, teams from all over campus would have their skills put to the test to rank the teams. Though everybody in the team needed the rest, Ella's attempts to fall asleep were fruitless. She tossed and turned in her bed, groaning at the inability to drift into dreamland. Another hour of unrest and she had finally given up, rising up from her bed and stretching her arms out.

"Great...", she sighed, reaching under her bed.

From under her bed, she pulled out a few dust canisters, a sewing kit and the dress she planned to wear tomorrow. With the extra time, she decided to sew some more dust into her clothes. As she was about to start, she heard a strange sound on the other side of the room.

"Mmmnn...n-no..."

Ella looked towards the disturbance, and gasped at the sight. Rizu was tossing and turning in his sleep, his mechanical arm clutching his bed frame, starting to break and crack the wood. Small, disgruntled whimpers could be heard from him as his nightmare plagued him. Cautiously, the she approached her comrade and sat on the edge of his bed, reaching out for his shoulder. As her hand barely brushed his bare skin, Rizu woke with a start and gripped her wrist with his right hand, panting.

"W-Who's here?!", he asked, out of breath.

"It's me Ella!", she whispered, yanking her arm away.

"Oh...sorry. You startled me is all", he sighed, catching his breath.

The teenager sat up in his bed, his chest glistening in a cold sweat from the gentle light of the moon. After he had calmed down, Rizu looked in Ella's general direction and began to speak.

"Sorry if I woke you", he muttered.

"No it's okay. I was already awake. I couldn't fall asleep to save my life", she whispered, awkwardly giggling.

"What's the matter?", he asked.

"Just...I'm nervous for tomorrow. I don't want to lose control like I did at the sparring match", she dreaded.

Ella began to remember that horrible day. The day she almost lost control and scorched the entire arena. She didn't want to hurt people, especially not her team. She sighed softly and sat cross-legged on Rizu's bed, looking at him. Ella was shocked to see his right hand find hers.

"With the past few days of training...I'm sure you will do just fine", he says in a strangely encouraging tone.

She looked up at him, the silver light brightening his dim, empty eyes. Though she had not know him for too long, she noticed a drastic change in him, as minimal as it seemed. He had gone from hating everything to...hating _less_ than everything. She knew he wouldn't show it, but he did care about his team. Though in her mind she still pondered why it was he hated so much. Ella smiled softly at him, though he couldn't tell.

"Rizu...can I ask you something?", she prodded carefully.

He was silent at first,"...uh...yeah sure"

She took a deep breath,"Why do you hate?"

"...heh...you know...I always hoped the day someone asked me that question would never come", he sighed, a small chuckle in his voice.

"You don't have to answer"

"No...I do. It's okay"

He pulled his hand away from her, resting it on his leg and sighing. Rizu stayed silent for a few moments, as if coming up with a good way to explain it. The room fell silent, save for some of the gears in Rizu's arm whirring. Before long, he spoke.

"I wasn't always this way. Hating was just...an easier road for me. When I was orphaned...I was too young to understand why and to this day still don't know why. Whether it's because of my weak aura or because I was a mistake or whatever. I'll never know. I didn't know my parents so I didn't have anyone to hate. I was just quiet for most of my childhood. When I got adopted...I was actually happy. I had a place to call home. But then...all of a sudden everything I knew was taken away from me when Ironwood and his cursed soldiers came knocking"

She listened intently, absorbing every bit of his pained explanation.

"I had lost everything I cared about. My family, my friends, and my even part of myself. Sometimes as I wandered around blind and crippled, I wondered why I kept going. What good could I do society in my state? I was about ready to give up...until..."

She interrupted,"Until Sirena found you"

He nodded,"Yeah. She could have killed me, taken my weapon, or anything she wanted...but she chose to take me in. To this day I will never know why. At first I didn't talk. I stayed silent for days. I didn't want to let her in like I did with all the people I knew from the club. I couldn't bear to lose anyone...so that's when my hate began. When she asked me to teach her to fight...everything changed. Maybe I could help her...redeem myself for not being able to help the people back at my old home. Of course...that didn't last long either. My hate grew as I stayed in Atlas custody. Over time...I began to hate everything. I hated my 'father' for doing something illegal...the military for taking my friends and family away...and most of all...I hate myself. I hate that with all my training, I could save nobody but myself...and I dread the day that I can't protect any of you"

As he finished talking, he lowered his head, his eyes half lidded and weary. Ella didn't know what to make of this. Of all the things that he hated, she couldn't believe the one thing Rizu hated more than anything was himself. She put a hand on his cheek slowly, his face jerking up to look to her. He wore the face of a frightened child, not the cold facade he normally projected.

"You don't have to worry about us. We are a team. You won't lose us, I promise", she assured, smiling softly.

For the first time since she had met him, she saw him smile. Not a cocky smirk, or some toothy grin, but a genuine smile.

"Thanks Ella...it means a lot to have you say that actually. Hey uh...this might seem...odd, but I have a favor to ask you", he said awkwardly.

"Sure thing. What is it?", she replied.

"Can I...uh...touch your face?", he asked sheepishly.

She blinked,"I'm sorry what?"

He sighed,"Look, just close your eyes okay?"

There's the Rizu she knew. With a soft sigh, she did was she was told, closing her eyes, waiting for his next move. Rizu reached his human hand out, slowly lifting it to cup her cheek. Carefully, he began to trace out every curve and outline of her face. To Ella, it was strange, yet she understood this was his only way to 'see' what she looked like. Over time, she grew accustomed to it and much unlike his cold demeanor, his hand gave off a gentle warmth. Near the end of it, Ella began to close her eyes and lean into his hand, and was slightly disappointed when he stopped. She was thankful he couldn't see her cheeks start to redden.

"Sorry...if that was weird", he said sheepishly.

"N-No it's fine", she replied, her cheeks getting hotter.

"I...I guess we should try to rest then. Tomorrow is a pretty big day", he yawned.

"Yeah. Well then...goodnight", she got up from his bed and headed to her own.

As she put away her clothes and sewing equipment, she slid back under her covers, actually feeling sleep begin to take over her. After a few minutes, she finally drifted off to a peaceful slumber.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Zane groggily sat up and turned off his alarm clock, yawning loudly as he began to wake up. Seeing what time it was, he began to panic.

"Oh man! Guys get your lazy asses up we're gonna be late!", he shouted, jumping up from bed and starting to get dressed.

Soon enough everyone was awake and tripping over each other to get their clothes on and equipment ready. By the time they had finished getting prepared, they had barely ten minutes to book it to the arena. They tried sneaking in, only for Ozpin himself to catch them.

"And what might you four be doing sneaking into the arena today?", he accused, a playful tone audible.

"We were on our way to take your assessment sir", Orion replied timidly.

"Oh? Well I guess you all weren't awake to hear my announcement. I had moved the assessment from the arena to the forest of Forever Fall", he explained, much to the students' shame.

"I...I guess we failed didn't we?", Ella asked in a saddened tone.

Ozpin sipped from his mug and smiled,"Not necessarily. As it happens...I have an assignment that will well enough compensate for the test"

Zane raised an eyebrow,"An assignment? What kind?"

"Some of my faculty have been assigned to investigate some kind of criminal activity in Atlas, so I can't bother them with this. I need you four to calm down a riot here in the city. The White Fang are getting...a little restless. Would you do this for me?"

The four teens simply nodded without batting an eye.

"Great. I'll send the coordinates to your scrolls. Good luck", the headmaster chimes before walking away.

The team looked at each other, not sure what to make of this mission. Nonetheless, the four made their way to the city, ready to confront whatever they may encounter.

**A/N: And there we go! Sorry for the longer than usual delay, but I will be starting to pace myself when it comes to writing these chapters. Also been kinda lazy because of Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Smash 3DS...but yeah. Anyway for those of you who have given me character ideas and are wondering why they aren't in yet, worry not, I will implement them soon. Anyway R&R and look forward to the next chapter! Thanks a ton for your support!**


	10. Sign of Resolve

Chapter Ten: Sign of Resolve

The midday sun burned hot in the cerulean sky as Team ZERO was taken into the city of Vale on their assignment, the airship carrying them over several buildings. On the way to their destination, the team was unsettlingly silent. Zane looked over the city, his eyes narrow and focused while Orion sat with a saddened expression, his own eyes fixed on something in his hand. Being the only one that noticed, Ella scooted over to him and nudged his arm.

"Hey Orion. What's that you have in your hand?", she asked warmly, trying to cheer him up.

"Huh? Oh...it's...it's this black ribbon", he replied sheepishly, opening his strong hand to show her.

It was indeed a black ribbon, and a pretty long one at that. The ribbon was a few inches shorter of the length of an unraveled tie, yet a little wider.

"Why do you have that? I've never seen you with it before", Ella noted.

He smiled softly,"It belonged to my mom...it was her good luck ribbon. I just grabbed it before we left"

"Orion...I can tell that you're nervous, but I'm sure things will be okay", she assured.

"T-Thanks Ella...I really hope you're right", he sighed worriedly, tying the ribbon around his wrist.

The four teens readied themselves as they were dropped off in the lower-class part of the neighborhood. With their wits about them, the team started to walk. According to the information that Ozpin had given them, there was a violent riot at a restaurant a few blocks away. Team ZERO looked around at their surroundings, horrified at the sight. There were homeless people everywhere, Faunus and Human alike, though the Faunus were more prominent. From elder folk to children, the amount of people living in the streets was plenty. Orion shook his head.

"I can't believe it...how can nobody do anything about this?", he asked emotionally.

Rizu sighed,"Because all of the higher class citizens and large corporations could care less of who they step on to get their way"

"T-That's not true!", Zane defended,"The Noctis Corporation hosts several charity functions...though it is mainly for humans. But don't worry! Once I graduate and become the CEO, I'll make sure the Faunus receive equal treatment"

Orion smiled softly and patted his friend on the back, though didn't know his own strength, thus knocking Zane to the floor. After helping him back up, the group pressed on, trying their best to focus on the mission: stopping a riot. The group pondered what Ozpin meant by the White Fang were getting restless. The White Fang had always been a peaceful organization from the very beginning, so it was odd to hear that they were restless. Orion hoped to the heavens above they wouldn't have to resort to violence.

As the group approached their destination, shouting and chanting could be heard, and the closer they came, the louder the chanting. With weapons drawn and nerves steeled, the group was ready to charge, only to be stunned by a dumbfounding sight: a _peaceful_ protesting rally.

"Justice for the Faunus!"

"Equality for all!"

"Justice for the Faunus!"

"Equality for all!"

Zane, Ella and Orion just blinked at the sight while Rizu stood confused. After moments of uncomfortable silence, the blind teenager spoke.

"Can you guys please tell me what the hell is happening?", he asked frustratedly.

"We came all this way...", Zane started.

"...to stop...", Ella continued.

"A...peaceful protest", Orion finished, lowering his axe.

The group put away their weapons and equipment, sighing in frustration as they looked on to the scene. About twenty members of the White Fang were marching in a circle in the middle of a roundabout road, marching around a fountain. The majority of them were adults...save for one.

Among them was a young girl. Though she was the smallest and the youngest, her voice resounded above all the others. She had short hair like the blackest of nights, her amber eyes burning with passion for justice, her voice crying to high heavens for the justice she craved so dearly for. Her adorable kitten ears stood proudly on top of her head, a little violet tint on them. Orion's eyes focused on her, amazed that someone so young could fight so hard. He smiled softly to himself, reveling in a moment of pride for his kind. However, the peace was not to last. The group noticed that Rizu's head was tilted in one direction, as if...listening.

He drew his weapons,"Guys...I don't think we were sent here to break up a peaceful rally"

"What do you mean?", Ella asked worriedly.

"Look up...and to the left...about ten o'clock", he replied.

The remaining members look towards said direction, their calm faces paling in shock. Soaring through the sky like menacing vultures, were three Atlesian Wyvern-class transport ships. They were modified bullhead ships with menacing dragon-like designs all over it, yet larger in size since they were designed to hold whole battalions of Atlesian Squire bots. Rizu readied his gear.

"Zane...is that what I think it is?", he asked, venom lacing his voice.

"If you mean a triad of Atlesian ships that could drop at least three dozen squire bots on us at any second, then yes", he sighed.

"Looks like we found ourselves another problem", Ella groaned.

"What about the criminal activity Ozpin talked about?", Orion asked.

"We will worry about that afterwards. Obviously Ozpin was mistaken about the White Fang", Rizu growled.

The airships began to hover over the intersection, the hatches of the ships opening, allowing the Squires to drop in. As the robotic soldiers hit the ground, the White Fang stopped in their tracks, looking on in horror at the military hardware surrounding them, unsure of what to do. As Team ZERO readied themselves, what happened next would unravel Orion Maxima's entire mind. One of the Squires lifted it's rifle, pointing it directly at the little girl in the crowd, and prepared to fire.

Orion's grip on his axe tightened to a vice, his muscles tensing and his eyes becoming like that of a feral lion, and a low, earth-rumbling growl began to emanate from him. The growl grew louder and louder until it ultimately erupted into a wrathful, dread ridden roar. Before the combat bot could react to the disturbance, Orion had hurled his mighty axe, the double bladed weapon cleaving it in twain. In the span of about five seconds following this, the White Fang began to scatter, the bots shifted their aim to Orion, and Orion in turn rushed to his axe and began to rampage, with the rest of his team standing dumbfounded at what just happened, yet they needed to move, and move fast.

"Alright guys, let's scrap these bots!", he cried out, charging in with blades lit up.

Ella smiled a little sadistically as her dress began to flare up, the dust on her clothes started glowing in several fire patterns. In her hands, she let small embers dance in her hands before letting them grow into an even-sized fireball. As two bots started to target her, she responded in kind, hurling her orbs of molten heat at them which made quick work of them.

Rizu smiled as he heard the sound of the melting metal hit the floor. Three of the bots turned their attention to him as he ran up, tapping his blade in order to 'see' his path. With a steady exhale, he rushed forward, ducking under the poorly designed aim of the bot before deftly beheading it, then using the body as a shield, shooting back with his revolver in a steady rhythm. He made sure to tap his blade when he attacked, making sure his target was right where he wanted it. The final Squire attacking him tried to hit him, only for Rizu to grab the arm with his own robotic one, ripping off the bots appendage before slicing the torso, letting the parts crumble to the floor before joining the fray again.

Zane carefully blocked any of the shots the Squires took, mainly doing his best to dodge them, yet he wasn't the fastest in broad daylight. Any bots he tried to fight aside from the initial few were taken down by Orion. Orion swung his axe with ferocious force, cleaving the bots in succession like a knife through butter, his attacks relentless and wild. Within minutes, he had decimated what remained of the Squires.

To the team's misfortune, another ship had appeared, four elite human soldiers sliding down some black ropes that dropped off the side. Zane, Ella and Rizu prepared themselves for further combat, only for a single command to stop everything.

"Stop! Don't fire! Everybody stand down...calm yourselves", a deep and authoritative voice called, sliding down one of the black ropes.

As the man giving orders came into closer proximity of Team ZERO, they were easily able to identify him as none other than General James Ironwood himself. He donned his normal white military uniform, his blue eyes coldly looming over the children. Orion growled lowly to himself, his fist clenching down on his axe's haft. Rizu was just as much annoyed to be in his presence, his brow furrowing in growing anger. Zane and Ella merely narrowed their eyes, fixing their gaze upon him.

"Can somebody please explain to me what is going on here?", the general asked frustratedly.

"You sent your scrap metal junk-bots here to slaughter innocent Faunus! One of them aimed it's weapon at a child!", Orion roared ferociously.

Ironwood's eyes widened at this accusation,"What?! I sent my 'junk-bots' here to do no such thing! They were sent here to stop a Faunus extremist riot!"

Ella calmly stepped forward,"Technically...we are here to do the same thing, though we were all mistaken in believing it was the White Fang"

"What? Are you Huntsmen and a Huntress?", the general asked.

She shook her head,"No. Ozpin asked us to investigate a riot here in the city as a substitute combat assessment. I'm guessing it's the same one you were warned about. Besides...isn't Atlas your jurisdiction and not Vale?"

"That may be young lady, but my military is allowed to respond wherever there may be a serious threat. The Squires were ordered to eliminate any sort of organized Faunus disturbance. I suppose I should have worded 'disturbance' a little differently"

Zane piped up,"Wait...you got the same message? From who?"

"Zane? My god it's been an age. Well...actually I don't know. My secretary told me it was an anonymous tip. I suppose Ozpin received the same one. I'll have my people look into this further"

The general turned around to speak to his guards as Team ZERO huddled to discuss the situation they had found themselves in. What was going on? Were both parties given false tips? Something here didn't add up. Ironwood cleared his throat to catch the team's attention.

"Well, it seems we were here on a misunderstanding. We were mistaken in assuming that the White Fang were the threat", he explained, chuckling a bit near the end of his statement.

Orion's eyes narrowed at the general,"How dare you think that they were! They are simply a peaceful group trying to attain equality"

As Ironwood turned towards his rope, he looked back to the Faunus,"Tell me...do you really think that they will remain peaceful forever? Equality will only go so far...until they want more"

As the airships flew off and out of sight, the team took a collective breath, tired from the ordeal. As Zane reached for his scroll to call for a ride back to Beacon, Orion looked to his left to see the young girl from earlier, staring at him from behind a lamppost, a look of both fear and wonder in her eyes. Slowly, he approached her, giving her a gentle smile.

"Hello there. Were you hurt?", he asked kindly.

She shook her head quickly.

"I'm sorry if I scared you earlier, I was just trying to protect you and the rest of the White Fang", he explained.

She stayed silent, just staring at him.

"My name is Orion...what's your name?"

"...B...Blake..."

"That's a nice name. You know...I've never seen someone so young...fight so passionately for justice"

She came out a little more, slowly inching toward him,"I just...I want us all to get along. And I...I'm sick of being bullied by the human children. I want people to treat the Faunus nicely"

Orion squatted down to this girl's height, his eyes meeting her own. Blake's amber eyes burned with a myriad of emotion. Pain from dejection, hate towards prejudice, and a passion to do good in this world in the name of the Faunus. In a way, Orion saw some of himself in her, causing him to smile and enjoy a moment of pride.

"Blake...close your eyes", he said softly.

"Huh? Okay mister", she replied as she did so.

Orion smiled, reaching for the black ribbon on his wrist, removing it and using it to tie a bow in Blake's ebony hair, tucking her petite kitten ears into the folds of the bow. When he had her open her eyes, she looked at her reflection in a shop window. At first, she was confused, looking up at the lion.

"Huh? Why does it have to hide my cat ears?", she asked, tilting her head.

"Because this way...people and Faunus alike will see you for who you are. Not what you are", he explained.

Zane shouted out to his teammate,"Orion! The airship is almost here! We gotta go!"

"Yeah I know give me a sec!", he shouted back,"Remember Blake. Define yourself by what is inside, rather than what is outside"

"Okay mister Orion. Will I ever see you again?", she asked, a little sad he had to leave.

Orion smiled and patted her shoulder,"Hopefully someday, we will meet again"

She nodded and smiled before running off into the streets to join her fellow White Fang members. As she disappeared, Orion could only smile as he turned to join his own people, only looking forward as he imagined what wonderful things that little girl would accomplish.

**A/N: There we go! Sorry for the delay and the possibly crappy fight scene. It took me forever to write that. I'm not the best at writing them either so I'm sorry for poor quality if you think so. Anyway please check out the Project Embers Facebook page and stuff if you want and thank you all so much for following and faving this story it means a lot. So thank you. Seriously. Anyway Read and Review! **


	11. Black and Green

Chapter Eleven: Black and Green

Silence.

Dull, agonizing silence.

Save for the gears of large clocks grinding and whirring, Professor Ozpin's chamber was filled to the brim with such silence. It had only been an hour since their return, and Team ZERO had explained to their headmaster what had transpired in the city. In response, Ozpin just stood up and turned to his window-wall, staring out onto the world with a flat expression. Glynda Goodwitch stood close to Ozpin, not saying a word as she tried to process this news, though she wore a face of irritation. Besides the occasional sip of his coffee, he didn't make a sound. Rizu stood vigil, waiting for a response as the other three members just looked to Ozpin and back to themselves repeatedly. With a sigh, the starlight-haired Huntsman sat back down in his chair, looking at his students.

"And that is all that happened?", he asked, his voice laced with minimal concern.

Rizu nodded,"Yes sir. General Ironwood seemed to believe that there was a third party behind this"

"M-Maybe not the White Fang gathering, but the anonymous tip you and the General received seemed to be really similar", Orion continued, fiddling with his tail.

Ozpin just nodded,"Classic James...always the first to show aggression"

Team ZERO simply looked to each other, not sure what to make of that, though each member held a different attitude towards the General. He was quite close to Zane's father, so he saw him as a sort of distant uncle. Rizu of course hated him, even hating being in his presence. Orion believed Ironwood was a danger to his people, and shouldn't be allowed to just throw his power around whenever the Faunus even remotely organize themselves for peace. Ella didn't know him the way the others did, but she resented his excessive military action. Ozpin stood and finally spoke.

"You four did exceptionally well. Team ZERO acted in the way any Huntsman or Huntress would in such a dilemma, so I congratulate you all for your work and will grade you accordingly", he commended, motioning towards the door.

Orion hesitated from moving,"But sir what about the set up? I know for a fact the White Fang wouldn't act violently!"

"Don't worry Mr. Maxima, I will assign a Huntsman or Huntress to investigate this matter. It does indeed seem...peculiar", Ozpin agreed.

"What about us? What do we do now?", Ella interjected.

Professor Goodwitch shook her head,"This is now a Huntsman problem, therefore We cannot send students to look into this. Now you four just head to your dorms, rest, and prepare for the Winter Formal this weekend"

The team simply nodded, although hesitantly and made their way out of the door and closed it. Through the door however, Rizu heard the two professors talking, so he got closer in order to hear.

"Rizu what are you doing?", Zane asked.

"Shh!", he snapped,"I'm trying to listen"

From inside the chamber, Ozpin spoke,"Glynda, what do you make of all this?"

Rizu heard a muffled sigh,"Well it seems like a plot Oz. I'll contact Qrow and see if he can find anything for us. What about Team ZERO?"

"It seems that I have sent them to see something they shouldn't have been a part of. Have our faculty keep a closer eye on them, make sure they don't do anything reckless", the headmaster sighed.

Rizu took his ear from the door and sighed angrily, tapping his blade before walking with his group back to the dorm. When they had finally got inside, Zane locked the door behind them.

"Alright man, what did they say?", the leader interrogated.

"Look Ozpin is basically putting us four on lock. He knows something and we need to find out what it is", he flatly replied, sitting on his bed to unload his gun.

Orion piped up,"I agree. I wanna know who would frame the White Fang. It doesn't make sense to me"

Ella sighed and quelled them,"Okay. Let me please be the voice of reason. This has nothing to do with us anymore. Ozpin said to leave this matter to the professionals, so why don't we?"

The four teens looked to their female companion, thinking over her logic. She was right in every aspect. They had no logical reason to put themselves in potential danger to investigate a hunch. There were no real facts to point to any suspect, yet something stunk about the situation. Curiosity built up in all of them, though Ella wouldn't admit to her own. Rizu stood up and sighed.

"Listen Ella. We know that Ozpin said to leave this to his 'professionals', but something tells me the headmaster sent us to investigate that riot for a reason. What for I don't know yet, but we will _never_ know if we don't try to find it. However...", he trailed off.

Ella cocked her head to the side,"However?"

"I'll be the first to admit that this isn't our decision to make alone. Zane, as our leader, has the final say"

Zane flashed a cocky smirk,"Heh, I am a pretty awesome leader"

"Don't push it", Rizu snapped.

Orion stood up and looked to his leader,"Well?"

Zane Noctis sat on his bed and let out a heavy sigh. He had never made such a serious decision before, let alone one that affects more than himself. On one hand, they could go about their own business and leave this alone. On the other hand, they could hunt down the source of the fake call with no leads or evidence and put themselves in a potentially perilous situation.

Zane rubbed the back of his head,"I...I can't make a decision right now. We had a sizable battle today with those prototype bots and I think we all just need to take it easy. I'll give a real answer after the Winter Formal okay?"

With a mutual understanding, the team nodded to their leader and decided to take the rest of the day to themselves. Orion went over to the dorm of Team ARES to catch up with Eos and Areana. Zane went to the cafeteria to get himself a decent meal and Rizu stayed in the dorm to sleep. Ella decided to go back to her local haunt: the library.

Ella walked through the halls and as she turned the corner to the library, she roughly bumped into a cart full of assorted piles of books, causing the stacks to fall over, revealing a quite annoyed Professor Goodwitch.

"Sorry professor...I guess I kinda spaced out", Ella said meekly as she helped picks up the books.

Goodwitch merely shook her head,"Just be more careful next time. Okay?"

With the books put back on the cart, the professor left her alone in the hall, heading towards the archives. As Ella stepped towards the library again, her foot struck something: a book. It was rather a small, black book that maybe had two hundred pages. Ella picked up the book, thinking that Professor Goodwitch had dropped it. After brushing some excess dust off of the cover, Ella's eyes gleamed with curiosity. Even the title's silver letters piqued her interest.

"_Soul Bonding Dust_"

**Warning: Contains experimental content and practices**

Ella scanned the area for anyone before cautiously picking up the book. Soul Bonding? She had never heard of such a thing. Though the warning on the cover concerned her, her heart began to beat with vigor, eager to learn what this book has to offer. Hastily hiding the book in her scarf and headed off to the team dorm, hiding the book under her pillow as she heard Rizu wake up from his nap, groaning tiredly.

"Is anyone else here?", he asked groggily, sitting up.

Ella softly answered,"I'm here"

"Huh? Oh hey Ella. How was the library?", the black-clad boy asked.

"I-It was good. Learning quite a bit"

"Well...that's good"

"...say...Rizu?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you...going to the Winter Formal?"

The question lingered in the room while it hit Rizu like a ton of bricks. Was she asking him out? Never in a million years did he think anyone would be asking him out, especially not Ella Blaze. She couldn't possibly be interested in me, he thought.

"Well...yeah actually. I was thinking I might DJ for the dance...", he replied.

That was probably the dumbest response ever. Of all time. He internally kicked himself for that. Ella simply nodded and turned towards the door. Rizu turned his head towards the sound of her opening the door.

"Where are you going?", he asked cautiously.

"Nowhere in particular...I'm just gonna go outside and see if it snows. Strange...it's actually colder in here", she replied dryly, leaving the room and slightly slamming the door.

As Ella traversed the empty halls, she looked out towards the stars, trying to keep her mind off of her disappointment. For a sharp guy, he's pretty dense, she thought to herself. In solemn silence she walked, several thoughts racing through her head. Why would he have said yes? Why was she interested? Her train of thought was interrupted when she bumped into a familiar Faunus.

"Huh? Oh sorry about that", Ella muttered, looking up at Roland.

He smiled,"Oh zat is no big deal. What brings you here, dear Ella?"

"Nothing I'm just walking around, trying to clear my head", she replied awkwardly.

With that, she started to walk away from him, only for the weasel to turn around towards her again.

"Would you like to attend ze dance to me?", he called out.

She stopped dead in her tracks, looking back at him,"H-Huh?"

"That is...unless you already have a date?"

"...no. I don't have a date. It would be a pleasure to go to the dance with you!", Ella said excitedly.

With that, Roland took her hand and began to discuss plans with her. Maybe this is a good thing, Ella thought. After all...Rizu didn't see her like that. Unbeknownst to the pair, the boy in black stood out from the shadows, lowering his head before using the silent walls to guide him to his equally silent dorm...

**A/N: Aaaaand there we go. Sorry for the long wait. But! I had the holidays and stuff to worry about. So...yeah! Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. It may seem a little slow now but everything I write has importance of some kind. I hope you all enjoyed the holidays! Look forward to the new chapter! See ya.**


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